What It Means
by Gravus02cx
Summary: My very first story! Natsu and Erza meet a few new strangers who join their guild, and the two get pushed together. Will their feelings overcome their fears of rejection? And how will several new mages push them together? Please review!
1. Say What Now?

**So! My very first fanfic! I've finally decided to write fanfics after reading many of them and wanting to write my own. This story just randomly takes place in the story somewhere, but happens after the Edolas Arc. I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. Lucky bastard… Blair and Soul belong to Atsushi Okubo.**

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**What IT Means**

**Chapter 1: Say What Now?**

He didn't know why, but she looked so much more… delicate when she cried. She seemed vulnerable and weak, not the strong and stoic woman he… knew. He wasn't sure what his feelings toward her meant, but he didn't know what true love felt like. How could he? He only had Igneel, and Igneel was a dragon. But Natsu Dragneel, the Salamander of Fairy Tail, was hopelessly in love. All he knew was that she caused a strange feeling in his chest. He was walking to the guild building and pondering over this, when a certain mage's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Natsu! Where have you been?" Erza called out to him. He looked up, and in that instant, his body stopped. She was at the doors of the Fairy Tail guild hall, and he felt the strange feeling again. Maybe it was her hair, shining and waving. Or maybe it was the smile on her face that she rarely showed, more often to him than others. Or it could have been the fact that she wasn't actually wearing her armor. All he knew was that she looked… beautiful.

"Sorry, Erza, I kind of overslept," Natsu sheepishly yelled back. She sighed and walked in with him by her side. He looked away so Erza wouldn't see his light blush. _'Why am I feeling this way? God DAMNIT!' _Natsu screamed in his head and gave a sigh of defeat. Erza glanced at him, worried. 'What is he thinking now?' She wondered. Erza shook her head and chuckled when she heard him.

"What is this feeling? Why do I feel that way? WHY?! Think! Think!" Natsu muttered under his breath. He turned slowly towards the request board and began trudging over. _'Boring, boring, too low pay, boring… ah ha!'_ Natsu found a job and snatched it up. "Erza! Let's take a mission!"

"B-but I just started my cake…" Erza said. She looked down at the slice of strawberry cheesecake she was about to bite into. She then turned her puppy eyes on Natsu, who began to lose his will.

"F-fine," Natsu relented. Erza suddenly smiled and began to eat her cake. 'She sure loves cake…' Natsu thought with a sweatdrop. _'Oh well, I guess I can wait…'_ He sat down next to her. "Hey, popsicle! I bet-" he yelled at Gray, who had just walked in after trying to find his clothes at home.

"Not now, flame-brain," Gray interrupted. He was tired and sleepy. Combine that with Natsu being annoying, and you will get an explosive result. He fell onto the couch on the other side of their table, and then a thought hit him. "Where's Happy?" he asked Natsu.

"Believe it or not, he actually got a date with Carla," Natsu smirked. "Who knew he could get a chance?"

"Okay, Natsu, let's go!" Erza called. She had finished her cake and was getting up. "What's the job?"

"Elimination. A new guild was attacked and got turned into a group of demons, and the nearby village sent a request to several guilds." Natsu was at the door and literally bouncing up and down. Erza smiled at his excitement and walked to the door. Sometimes Natsu acted just like a 5 year old.

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"Five down, many to go," a shadowy figure muttered. Bodies flew by in pieces, yet the possessed mages kept rushing the figure. Flashes of darkness surrounded him as his arms swung around him. Blades could be seen trailed by shadows as the elimination continued. The figure stepped into a beam of light in the ruined building and pulled off his hood. "Who knew that I would have to take this job, eh? I know you're there," he called, raising his voice. He turned around to see Natsu and Erza. They looked over him and instantly froze. The man gave a chuckle and said, "Don't worry; I won't kill you or anything. I was passing through town when the villagers asked me to take care of those mages." He noticed the mark on Natsu's arm and gave a start. He then looked at Erza and paled. _'Oh sh…' _was the thought running through his head before Erza reacted on instinct and swung her sword at his head. He blocked, but was sent flying into the wall.

"Ohmigod, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Erza asked when she rushed over. Natsu walked over with her and stared at the man. He scratched his head and then sniffed the air.

"Where are the other people?" Natsu asked when he looked at the man. The man gave a low chuckle again and shook his head.

"Wow, you really are special. I guess Fairy Tail's mages are some of the best, no? Come on, guys, he's already sniffed you out. Literally!" the man yelled out to the shadows. "Oh, and by the way, my name's Gravus." The man introduced himself. "And you are the Salamander and Titania of Fairy Tail, I presume? Some people in my home town called you Oberon and Titania." Erza and Natsu looked at him quizzically before realizing what he was implying, and they jumped away from each other as the both frantically shook their heads.

"WHAT?! NO!" the two yelled simultaneously. _'Though I do wonder how Natsu feels about me. He's always been looking away from me recently…' _Erza wondered. She suddenly blushed a deep red that outmatched her hair and turned away. She heard a meow and looked around before finding the source of the noise. A black cat with large yellow eyes, a curled tail, and a large witch's hat was sitting on Gravus's shoulder while nuzzling his neck. She suddenly laughed at how similar the two were to Natsu and Happy. A loud clanking sound filled the room, and Natsu jumped suddenly.

"God DAMN IT! This armor is really annoying sometimes. REQUIP!" a loud voice filled the air with a bright flash before a man wearing camouflage-painted clothes stepped into the room. Erza looked in confusion at the two men. Gravus wore a dark cloak with sword designs on the back over a dark jacket with a high collar and black jeans, while the other man wore army clothes with a bulletproof vest. Gravus carried two swords with him, one on his back and one at his waist, with four knives, and wore a gray armband with the words "MINECRAFT" on it with light blue rectangles, while the unknown man carried a large minigun on his back and held a twin-barrel shotgun in his hand. Pistols were arranged in his belt and an assault rifle was slung over his shoulder by a strap. 'He looks like a walking armory,' Erza laughed at the large amount of guns on the man, but considering he had made use of Requip magic, he probably had much more stored away. They both had an eyepiece with a blue lens on it, a mini headlight, and a crosshair.

"Ryan! You made it!" Gravus shouted. Ryan nodded, and then looked at the cat.

"Why is Blair in her cat form?" he asked.

"Cat form? What do you mean?" Natsu asked. He was holding Blair in his arms and stroking her head.

"Well, let me show you!" Blair said, much to everyone's surprise. She jumped down from Natsu's arms and a smoke cloud enveloped her. A silhouette of a rather tall woman appeared, and Blair walked out in a purple t-shirt, an open black leather jacket with fur that ended above her stomach, black jeans, the same witch's hat, and black sandals that looked just like Natsu's. Natsu suddenly turned away from her, as her chest rivaled Erza's and Mira's. Blair walked behind Gravus and looped her arms around his neck, while a light blush dusted his cheeks. Erza stared at Blair and her purple hair, and then voiced her thoughts aloud.

"What magic are you guys using?" she asked. Natsu turned back around and sniffed the air once again.

"Erza, their magic smells blended. I can smell Requip magic, gunpowder, pumpkins, and … you wouldn't believe this, but I can smell swords and Dragon Slayer magic! And there's more, but… I don't see them," Natsu announced.

"A D-d-dragon S-slayer? Are you serious? And what do you mean, 'more'?" Erza asked. She looked extremely stunned and was wide-eyed.

"Yup. I'm a Dragon Slayer, and apparently, the Sword and Darkness Dragon Slayer. Ryan makes use of Tank Requip magic, and Blair… is special," Gravus answered. "I actually don't know her type of magic, but she has multiple kinds of magic. And she's the spirit of my sword," Gravus continued, gesturing to the large sword on his back. "There's more in our group, and I should introduce them." He drew his katana at his waist, and let it fall from his hand. The sword turned into a boy about Natsu's age and height, with white, spiky hair and pointy teeth. He wore a headband with the words "Soul EAT", a yellow jacket with a black center, brown pants, and sneakers. He looked bored and was half-asleep.

"Tch. This isn't cool at all," he drawled, and looked at Natsu and Erza. "Hey. My name's Soul. Don't ask how I turn into a sword, it involves our soul resonance and all that. It's easier to show you. People like me are called Demon Weapons, but it doesn't mean anything." He then reached for Blair's hand and turned into the katana again, before glowing and turning into a scythe with a small blade at the bottom and an eye on the handle. He turned back into his human form and sat down. Gravus then drew all four of his knives and twirled them about before letting them fly into the air. When they neared the ground, a young man and two girls landed on the ground, crouching.

"My name is Pyrus, and this is my twin sister Lilica. We are also Demon Weapons," the man said. One of the girls with blue hair stepped up next to him and ruffled his red hair. The other set of knives became a girl with a wolf and dark blue symbols in its fur. She was wearing an orange jacket and a fur hat with ears and sleeves. Underneath her jacket was a blue shirt. She had brown fur-lined boots on over jeans, and was sitting next to the wolf. She was toying with a little bone necklace and looked up.

"H-hi, my n-name is Dani, and t-t-this is Wolfbane…" the girl stuttered. She looked down again, and then looked up at Natsu, who whispered something to Erza, making her giggle. Dani looked to Gravus for help, and he sympathetically held out his hand. She took it and she was returned to her knife form, while Wolfbane sniffed Erza's leg.

"Wow. You guys have a lot of mages in your group," Natsu said. He was surprised to see so many mages hidden so well, and suddenly jumped up. "Erza! Look out!" he shouted, and tackled her to the ground. The walls began to shake, and suddenly broke apart. A large, hulking figure loomed above them, and Erza and Natsu's eyes widened.

"A demon…" Natsu muttered, scared. He picked Erza up, bridal style, and hurried behind a large piece of rubble. "No, no, no! Why is a demon here?!" Natsu shouted. He set Erza down and she started to get up, until she heard Gravus call to Ryan to "get in position". They both looked around, and the sight that greeted them shocked them to their core.

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**Well, that's the first chapter. Suspenseful, no? If I can get reviews on what to correct, I can crank out the second chapter in no time at all. So, please review, and leave suggestions to what I should change!**


	2. Our Lives Are Pretty Messed Up

**I'm back! I just got the first chapter done while snowboarding and I am tired. So this chapter is going to directly pick up from the ending of the last chapter, so if you're confused, go back! And sorry for introducing so many of my OCs, but it had to happen. People are wondering about Soul Eater references, but as much as I want the actual characters, I've modified them, so yeah. So here I go! And again, all characters are owned by their respective owners. So don't sue me!**

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**LAST TIME ON "WHAT IT MEANS":**

"A demon…" Natsu muttered, scared. He picked Erza up, bridal style, and hurried behind a large piece of rubble. "No, no, no! Why is a demon here?!" Natsu shouted. He set Erza down and she started to get up, until she heard Gravus call to Ryan to "get in position". They both looked around, and the sight that greeted them shocked them to their core.

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**What IT Means**

**Chapter 2: Our Lives Are Pretty Messed Up…**

All they could see was Ryan's backside, and what greeted them was quite surprising. He had on steel armor plating that was one inch thick, a large container on his back, exhaust pipes on his legs, and a large 76 millimeter gun mounted on a shoulder turret. His boots had treads on the bottom and looked larger than normal, and he had two large machine guns mounted on his left forearm.

"Requip: Tank! Panzer IV Armor!" Ryan shouted. He took hold of the handle on the large cannon and quickly swiveled the cannon to face the demon. With a simple pull on a lever, the cannon blasted a large projectile surrounded by a thin layer of Etherion towards the demon's head, and hit it dead on. A large explosion filled the air, and the demon let out a roar of annoyance and anger, swiping at Ryan. Ryan quickly dodged with surprising speed, and stopped again. He aimed, and fired off a second round, this time at the demon's chest. The Etherion-powered missile hit once again, and then Natsu and Erza realized something.

"Where's Gravus?" they asked in unison. They looked around, but couldn't see him. They looked back to the demon, and saw it had two large holes in it. A shadowy blur suddenly flew in front of them and stopped while constant gunfire echoed around the room.

"I'm here," the blur said. "After Ryan and I are done with the demon, you two need to figure out a way to use Unison Raid together. That demon is much stronger than any other I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a few," the blur continued. The shadows dispersed to reveal Gravus without his cloak. He drew Blair and gave a pull on the ornament hanging from the handle, drawing out a hidden short sword with no hand guard. The shadows closed back around him and he took off, leaving Natsu and Erza to get ready. Natsu looked at Erza and wondered, _'How do I do Unison Raid with Erza? How?! HOW?!'_ He looked at Erza, and noticed she seemed just as confused as he was. She was lost in thought, and was racking her brain for a solution. She thought how difficult Unison Raid was to pull off, and how none of her armors seemed compatible with Natsu's magic. _'What to do, what to do, what to do…'_ she pondered. She continued to think, until Natsu grabbed her hands. She looked at him, and realized how serious he looked. _'It's now or never,' _Natsu thought, before looking into her eyes.

"Erza… Igneel once told me how dragons and Dragon Slayers have special magic that can work with other types of magic. He said that one of them was Requip magic, and I know how we can perform Unison Raid. You have to equip your Heaven's Wheel Armor, okay?" Natsu explained his strategy. Erza nodded, and he grinned. "Great! Now listen. I'll need one of your swords, and I need you to use Circle Sword on the demon." Erza nodded and instantly followed his plan, handing him one of her two swords in her hands.

"Dance, my blades," she whispered, and a circle of swords appeared. Natsu held out his hand and fire surrounded his hand and rushed to the ring, filling it. He gripped it, and lit his sword and Erza's on fire. Erza understood what he wanted to do, and then thought of something. "Do you want me to get another Circle Sword, Natsu?" she asked. The Dragon Slayer thought for a second, and then nodded. She summoned a second circle, and it flew behind her. They looked at the demon and noticed Gravus sheathing his short sword, before raising his blade.

"To the heavens and to the earth, darkness will reign over all. Soul Resonance: Release! Arcing Blade of Darkness!" Gravus yelled. He leapt into the air, and his blade shone a dark blue, before turning into a large blade with the edge extending past the handle and connecting to the pommel. The blade had pieces in the center gone and filled with a black and red energy, which swirled in the spaces. He grinned, and kicked off towards the demon. He let his blade trail behind him, before slicing through the demons arm. The demon roared again and stepped back. Gravus swung the blade, trailing dark energy, and hit the demon in the chest. A large gash of darkness appeared on the demon before cutting into it, exposing the center. "Now, Natsu! Go!" Gravus yelled.

"Alright! I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled, and then jumped into the air. He gathered some flames at his feet and rushed to the demon, with Erza soaring behind him. He reared back and flung the fiery ring at the demon, slicing deeper to the core. Erza rose up behind him and sent her circle of swords into the gash, and she and Natsu flew towards the open core. They swung their swords in unison and struck the core with the flame-enhanced blades, causing the demon to let out a growl. The fire began to spread from the cuts and slashes the duo dealt, and the demon began to wildly flail its arms around. Erza and Natsu dodged the arms for a while, but Erza was suddenly hit as Natsu's flames made him much more agile.

"NO! Erza!" Natsu screamed as Erza began to fall. He dove after her and wondered if he would catch her in time or not. As they neared the ground, Natsu wondered what his life would be like without Erza. All those fights, the brawls, how silly she could be, how she was like a sister to him, but also a friend, and how he, Gray, and Erza were so close as little kids… He caught her and twisted around so he would take the brunt of the fall. He grunted and got up with Erza in his lap. "Erza! Erza! Are you okay?" Natsu asked, worried about her condition. She looked up slowly and nodded. _'She's okay. Good,' _Natsu thought. He sighed in relief and let her get up, before getting up and looking at the demon. He decided to make the final move, and pulled Erza over.

"Okay, Erza, here's what we have to do now. The demon is starting to regenerate, so we have to act fast. I need you to use Blumenblatt on the demon, and I'll use Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade with it, okay?" Natsu explained his tactic. Erza nodded again, and he grinned. "Let's go!" he yelled, before flying towards the demon.

"Alright, Natsu! Blumenblatt!" Erza shouted, soaring into the air. She summoned a large amount of swords and sped towards the demon. With two quick strikes, a large X-shaped gash appeared on the demon. Her swords began to speed towards the demon, when Natsu acted.

"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" Natsu yelled. He ignited his arms and spun while swinging his arms at the demon, sending blades of fire to attach to the end of Erza's swords. The swords gained even more speed, and all struck the demon in the chest. When they hit, the flames exploded upon contact, forcing the swords through the demon's body. The demon let out a roar and began to collapse. Natsu fell to the ground, and Gravus, Ryan, and Erza ran over to him.

"Natsu! Are you hurt? Natsu!" Erza shouted, lightly shaking him. Natsu groaned and tried to roll over.

"Five more minutes, Erza…" he muttered. He opened his eyes and saw Erza's worried face a little too close to his, her eyes wide. Natsu could feel her breath on his face, the familiar scent of strawberries. "I'm fine, Erza. Don't worry!" Natsu reassured her. She sighed in relief and hugged him briefly, before releasing him. They turned away from each other to hide their blushes, but then turned to Gravus.

"Hey Gravus, I think you and your group should join Fairy Tail! You could help us during missions and everything!" Natsu and Erza offered. Gravus and Ryan looked at each other, and then looked back to the Fairy Tail mages.

"Um… We'll have to think about that…" Gravus said. He wasn't sure how their group would react to the offer, even though he himself was drawn to the offer. He thought about it, and then drew all of his blades. They transformed into their human forms and looked at Gravus and Ryan.

"So, Natsu and Erza suggested that we should join Fairy Tail. What do you guys think?" Gravus explained. The group looked at one another, then back to Gravus. They scratched their heads, before thinking separately.

"Aye! We'll join!" the group shouted. Gravus turned back to Natsu and Erza.

"Well, there's your answer. I guess we'll all join Fairy Tail, then." Gravus told them. He nodded to his friends, who sheathed themselves again, except for Blair, who curled up on his shoulders in her cat form. He walked to a hole in the wall with Ryan, Natsu, and Erza. "Let's head off, then!"

"AYE!" Natsu shouted. Erza simply shook her head. _'Happy number two'_, she thought with a grin.

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"Well, this is Fairy Tail," Erza said. The small group had arrived at the gates of the Fairy Tail guild hall, and Erza was dragging Natsu. They had just disembarked from the train, and Erza suddenly remembered something. "Hey, Gravus, how come you weren't affected by the train at all?" she asked. Gravus looked at her, and then realized he wasn't affected at all.

"Well, when I was a kid, we kept on going around in vehicles, so I guess it's just a natural resistance," he replied. Blair sleepily yawned, and Ryan rubbed his face sleepily.

"Do you guys have any booze, preferably by the barrel?" Ryan sleepily asked. He hadn't had a drink ever since the villagers had asked their group to take care of the possessed mages, and he wanted at least a beer or something.

"Actually, we have someone who drinks from the barrel, so yes. She's the guild's heaviest drinker,"

"Great, because I haven't had a drink in two whole days!" Ryan yelled. Gravus sighed. How typical of Ryan. Gravus grinned and walked through the gates into a new home.

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The guild was having fun and brawling when the doors quietly opened. Gray was sitting on the couch with Juvia in his lap, asleep. Lucy was sitting on the other couch, hugging Loke, who was combing her hair with his hands. Elfman and Bickslow were wrestling, and Mira was scolding Cana for drinking so much of the expensive wine again. Happy was flying up to the balcony with a fish, where Carla was waiting with a small smile, and Wendy was laughing at Carla's soft side for Happy. The entire guild was in a great mood, until a few people looked to the door, where Erza was standing with a cloaked man and another man in camouflaged clothes with many guns on him.

"E-erza! We didn't see you there!" Lucy yelled. The guild froze and looked to Erza, waiting for her reaction. She nodded curtly and dragged Natsu to their table, before dumping him on the couch next to Lucy.

"Where's Master Makarov? I need to speak to him," Erza asked Lucy. Lucy shrugged and pointed upstairs. Erza beckoned to the cloaked figure and the camouflaged man to follow her, and then walked up to Makarov's office. "Master? I would like to speak to you about something," Erza called.

"Of course, Erza. Come in!" a voice replied. Erza opened the door and motioned for Gravus and Ryan to follow her. When they walked in, they were shocked to see Makarov standing on his desk to reach their head height.

"T-this… this is the master of Fairy Tail?!" Ryan whispered to Gravus in shock. Gravus nodded, also dumbfounded. He was expecting a rather tall, strong man to be the "Titan" of Fairy Tail, but to see him as an extremely short, old man was a shock. Erza noticed how they were simply standing there, and nudged them. They jumped and looked back at her.

"Now, you two, why don't you introduce yourselves to Master Makarov?" Erza suggested. Gravus nodded, and drew all of his blades excluding Blair, who had jumped to the ground, and everyone morphed into their human forms. Makarov was introduced to each of Gravus's weapons in turn, and when he reached Blair, he reached over and squeezed her breasts and ass.

"My, my, Erza, you and Natsu have a knack for bringing nice, young women into our guild, eh? I wonder if-" Makarov was grinning until Gravus kicked him away from Blair with his steel-toed boot, sending the old pervert into the wall with a crash.

"I'm so sorry, Blair, but Master can be like that sometimes. You may have to watch yourself around him," Erza said. She was ashamed at her guild Master's perverted actions. Sometimes she wondered how he was even chosen as guild master. She shook her head and then remembered what they were here for. "Master, we need them all to be stamped."

"O-of course, Erza. Now, why don't we look for a place to put your guild marks?" Makarov got up and walked back to the group. The group nodded, and Pyrus and Lilica stepped forward.

"A red stamp on my upper arm, near the elbow," Pyrus asked. Makarov nodded and pressed the stamp onto Pyrus's arm. When Makarov lifted the stamp, a red Fairy Tail mark could be seen. Lilica then stepped forward and held out her left arm.

"A blue stamp on my lower arm, next to my elbow, please," Lilica requested. Makarov stamped her arm and revealed a blue Fairy Tail stamp. She looked at it and nodded in satisfaction before stepping back. Dani then stepped forward with Kiba and she looked down before Makarov tapped her shoulder.

"Don't be shy, go ahead and tell me where I should stamp the mark," Makarov encouraged. Dani nodded; the man seemed very fatherly to her. She looked at her jacket, and then pointed to the right side of her neck.

"Purple, please," Dani muttered. Makarov pressed the stamp tool to her neck, and a flash of purple appeared, before zooming to Kiba's side and creating a new symbol in its fur. The wolf looked to its side and sniffed, before turning to Dani. She stepped back into Gravus's arms and he held his two bone knives again. He smiled in sympathy at her initial shyness before tucking her in his belt. She was so shy and polite around strangers, but after getting to know her, she was quite a fun and talkative person. Ryan stepped forward, and held out his left hand.

"Green, in the center," Ryan demanded. Makarov stamped the mark rather hard, causing Ryan to jump. Makarov chuckled and turned to Gravus and Blair.

"Now, you two, where will you want your stamps?" Makarov asked. Blair thought for a moment before stepping forward.

"Black, right above my waist, and in the center!" Blair yelled. She stepped forward and Makarov suddenly gained a perverted grin. He nodded, and began to drool, until the aura of a shadowy dragon rose behind Blair. Knowing it was probably Gravus; Makarov quickly gave Blair her stamp and then stepped back.

"I actually don't know where to get my stamp," Gravus said. He had thought of all the places, and not one made sense to him. His arms, his legs, his torso… None would work. "No, scratch that." He finally decided one a place that could help him keep a secret of his. "On my eyes, orange, and taking up the iris," Gravus announced. He reached for his eyes and pulled out the contacts that Erza had thought were his irises. Erza was quite flabbergasted. On his eyes?! Why would he need that? _'Unless his eyes held some secret,'_ Erza thought. Makarov nodded and placed the stamp on Gravus's eyes, and he amazed everyone by not even reacting. Gravus closed his eyes, and when he opened them, the Fairy Tail stamp completely covered his irises, hiding what they looked like. Gravus nodded, satisfied, before turning to Erza.

"Now what?" Gravus asked expectant of something. Erza grinned suddenly.

"We'll introduce you to everyone else, and then we will have a… PARTY!" Erza was quite happy about the turnout of the mission.

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"Come on, Gray, Lucy hits harder than that!" Natsu yelled. He and Gray were in the middle of yet another guild-wide brawl, with everything flying everywhere. Erza walked back down with Gravus and his group, when a table flew at her. She wasn't looking, and Gravus decided to help her. He took Blair's hand and swung her in her sword form towards the table, and with the wind from his sword blew the table back into the frenzy. Erza took one look at the guild and growled. The guild froze, and slowly turned to her, before flinching and dropping to the ground, except for Natsu. A tick mark began to develop on her forehead, before exploding comically.

"NAAAATSUUUUUUUUU!" Erza bellowed, and walked up to him. "I leave you to recover for ten minutes, and THIS happens?!" She grabbed the pinkette and threw him out the guild doors, and then stormed out after him.

"He's fucked, alright," Gray stated.

"Aye!" Happy shouted, and then a statement from Gravus made everyone freeze.

"Literally?" the cloaked man joked. The entire guild suddenly burst out laughing at the joke, until the doors slammed open, with Erza dragging a bruised and beaten Natsu behind her. She tossed him on to the couch and sat down next to his head, sighing. She took his head and put it on her lap, stroking his hair. Gray shook his head and sat down with the rest of Team Natsu. _'What an idiot,'_ Gray thought. Natsu groaned and tried to snuggle closer to Erza, until he realized who it was.

"ErzaImsorrypleasedontkillme!" Natsu shouted out quickly as he jumped up. "Erza?" Natsu asked. Erza looked away from him with an annoyed expression. "You okay?" Natsu questioned her, sitting next to her and looking closely at her face. She scooted away from him, and he sighed. Sometimes he just didn't know what to do when she was like this. He looked the other way and pouted. Maybe he could ask Gravus what to do, considering the shadowy man and Blair had a pretty obvious relationship. Natsu groaned and got up to ask Gravus what to do, and Erza looked up as he walked off. She sighed and looked down, hoping to ask Natsu about his earlier behavior. _'Maybe when we get a party going,'_ Erza thought. She got up and walked to the bar to ask Mirajane for some cake.

"Hey, Gravus, can I ask you a question?" Natsu called. Gravus looked up from his tea and nodded. He was sitting at the bar with Blair in her cat form curled up next to him on the counter.

"What's bothering you?" Gravus replied. Natsu looked back to his table before looking at Gravus.

"Well, Erza is ignoring me now, and all I did was fight Gray. I mean, she's never been so quiet when she's angry, and I'm worried," Natsu explained. Gravus nodded, and thought for a moment. He looked to Erza, who was sitting at her table with her cake, and knew what seemed to be the problem.

"Well, why don't you ask her what she wants to talk about? She looks like she has something on her mind. Go on, ask her!" Gravus suggested. Natsu gratefully nodded and walked over to Erza.

"Erza, do you want to talk?" Natsu asked. He sat down next to her and looked at her. She swallowed her cake and nodded. She looked at him and took a breath.

"Natsu, you've been acting strangely these few days. You've been avoiding me, not looking at me, and just being… not normal!" Erza said. She looked at him with a worried expression. "Natsu, tell me what's wrong! Why won't you let me help?" Natsu sighed and looked away. How could he explain? _''Hey, Erza, I think I'm in love with you!' Oh, _that_ would help,'_ Natsu thought. He looked back at Erza, and decided to try and wiggle out of this.

"Look, Erza, I'd love to let you help, but this time, it's different, okay? I can't tell you how much I want help, but also how much I have to keep this a secret," Natsu explained. He looked up at Erza, expecting her to be angry, but instead she looked… sad. Why would she be sad? Why? Erza looked down, knowing that she had a problem. Recently, whenever she would look at him or sit near him, she would blush uncontrollably. She felt warm, and her heart sped up. What caused this? She thought the last time she had felt something like this was when she was in the Tower of Heaven, with Jellal. When she had last loved. When her heart was shattered and she had surrounded the pieces in armor. But Natsu was evidently doing something to the armor, and she turned away. Why were these feelings fighting to the surface? Was Erza falling for the resident fire-breather of Fairy Tail? And was Natsu falling for the strongest woman in Fairy Tail? Why were they feeling these feelings just now?

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**And the second chapter is complete! *Slumps over half-asleep* Well, that's going to be there for a long while before my next chapter gets posted. School is a bitch to me, and I have almost no time. So review!**


	3. What Do I Do!

**Alright! I'm back! I recently finished my second chapter, so that's up now. PEOPLE ARE NOT REVIEWING! IT HURTS THE WRITER TO SEE 1 OR 2 REVIEWS! *Rage and trash the room* Anyways, my writing is going to stop for a loooooong time due to school, so yeah. No updates for a while. All characters belong to whoever owns them. I'm broke, so don't sue me or ask for money, k? K. **

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**LAST TIME ON "WHAT IT MEANS":**

Erza looked down, knowing that she had a problem. Recently, whenever she would look at him or sit near him, she would blush uncontrollably. She felt warm, and her heart sped up. What caused this? She thought the last time she had felt something like this was when she was in the Tower of Heaven, with Jellal. When she had last loved. When her heart was shattered and she had surrounded the pieces in armor. But Natsu was evidently doing something to the armor, and she turned away. Why were these feelings fighting to the surface? Was Erza falling for the resident fire-breather of Fairy Tail? And was Natsu falling for the strongest woman in Fairy Tail? Why were they feeling these feelings just now?

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**What IT Means**

**Chapter 3: What do I do?!**

Natsu loved the nighttime; the smell, the gentle breeze, the peace, the quiet. It gave him time to think (think! To use his brain that no one knew he had! \O.O/) about the day, and to solve problems that he had. Right now, Natsu was wondering why Erza had looked slightly sad when he had asked her to not worry and to let him deal with his problem alone. Why would she look sad? Why? Why? Natsu sighed in defeat. Romance was one of the things he was absolutely clueless in, so his brain was working overtime to find a solution to this dilemma. He loved Erza; that much was obvious. So there was his problem. Who did Erza love? Natsu decided to go to bed and think it over later. After all, he needed his sleep to avoid from looking like a wreck. Natsu quit thinking and climbed into bed.

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Once again, Natsu was looking for requests to feed the boredom monster inside him. He looked back to the bar, and realized that the guild was mingling quite well with Gravus's group. So far, all of Gravus's weapons were out and mingling. Soul was chatting with Lisanna; Ryan was drinking next to a tipsy Cana; Pyrus and Lilica were sitting next to each other and sleeping; Dani was talking quietly to Wendy, who was sitting next to Kiba, and Gravus was sketching in a black leather-bound book with no detail on the covers. Natsu decided to find out if Gravus was in a team or not. Natsu walked to Gravus, and noticed Blair watching the pencil with a bored expression.

"Hey, Gravus, are you part of a team yet, or have you formed your own?" Natsu asked. Gravus continued to sketch. Natsu saw that it was the guild a few minutes ago, perfectly being rendered in pencil, line by line. Natsu would have never guessed that Gravus was a great artist. He watched the guild take shape and almost felt like he was looking at a picture of the guild. He looked at Gravus again, and noticed that his eyes were closed and glowing darkly. Gravus finished up, added a few touches, and at a blank space signed his name with flowing script and a skull. Gravus opened his eyes, and the glow disappeared. The man closed his book, put down his pencil, and looked at Natsu.

"I'm sorry, Natsu, did you say something? I kind of got lost in my drawing again..." Gravus said sheepishly. He looked back down at the black book and gently stroked the spine.

"I asked if you and your group had joined a team or formed your own team," Natsu repeated. Gravus looked up and shook his head.

"No, why?" Gravus asked. Natsu grinned.

"Well, why don't you join Team Natsu then?" Natsu offered. Gravus looked to Blair, who had transformed into her human form, and was nursing a mug of hot chocolate with pumpkin spices. Blair nodded and sipped her drink happily. Gravus then closed his eyes, which began to glow again. The members of his team perked up, and then paused, before resuming their activities. Gravus kept his eyes closed for a few seconds, and then facepalmed.

"My team says yes, and the shithead drinking booze says 'Kk bro, gtg drinking, donot disturb mee anymoar plzz' " Gravus muttered. He looked to Ryan, who was laughing with an odd expression that was pretty damned close to a trollface, before giving Ryan the finger and a blast of magic, turning the beer Ryan was sipping from into black coffee. Ryan spat his coffee out and glared at the Darkness Dragon Slayer, who now had a tiny smirk in the shadows of his face.

"Great! Well, we'll be taking a mission soon, so be prepared for it," Natsu exclaimed. He rushed over to Wendy (now part of Team Natsu), who gave a squeal after hearing the news and looking excitedly at Dani. Natsu then grinned and walked to Gray, Lucy, and Erza, and told them what Gravus's team had decided on. Gravus shrugged, Erza nodded, and Lucy groaned. She knew what destruction would typically follow a Dragon Slayer, and having all three, no, apparently _four_ First-Generation Dragon Slayers was a sure sign of low pay.

Natsu had jumped back to the request board and was wondering what request would be good for a team. _'Bring, solo, too easy, boring, boring, boring, I feel like Nab, too easy… wait!' _Natsu thought as he looked over the large amount of requests. He pulled one off the board that seemed perfect. Natsu rushed back to his team's table.

"Guys! I have the perfect mission for our newly expanded team!" Natsu shouted. He placed the paper in front of Erza, who nodded, and he smiled. He saw her slight smile, and could tell she was thinking what he was thinking. They grinned mischievously and showed the paper to Gray. Gray, who was bored and about to fall asleep, woke up and smiled, knowing what Natsu had planned. Gravus walked over, took a look at the paper, and laughed. He shook his head and told his group what the mission was. They all laughed, and held a smile on their faces.

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Team Natsu, with the newest members, set off to see what the mission was about. They had arrived at the train station after packing, with Natsu and Gravy bickering as usual. Gravus was drawing something, Blair was napping, Ryan was drinking his beer, Lucy was trying not to explode, and Soul was lying on a bench.

"Natsu, Gray, cut it out, or I'll tell Erza you two were fighting," Gravus muttered. He couldn't concentrate with the two knuckleheads bickering, and was rather annoyed. At that moment, a figure began to approach in the distance.

"Natsu, Gray, stop fighting or else!" Erza shouted. Natsu and Gray instantly froze, and shakily, slowly, began to turn until they saw Erza and jumped. Erza sighed again and dragged Natsu to the train, which had arrived. The rest of Team Natsu piled on and Natsu groaned. Erza looked at him, and then pulled him down next to her, before placing his head on her lap. Natsu kicked up his legs onto the bench. Erza stroked his hair and looked at his face. He had such a different expression when he was sleeping or resting. Natsu's face was surprisingly calm and relaxed. Erza smiled and leaned back, closing her eyes. Gravus, Wendy, Gray, and Lucy watched with an amused look, knowing that the two mages resting were beginning to bond as more than just friends. Ryan glanced at the group, shrugged, and took a sip of beer.

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"Natsu, wake up. We've arrived," Erza softly called. She stretched her arms and reached down to Natsu. He twitched and opened one eye. Erza played with his hair, until Natsu sat up and yawned. Erza frowned slightly at not being able to play with his hair, but shook the thought away and grabbed her luggage. Natsu followed her groggily with his backpack and the two walked to the rest of the group. They all moved toward the town inn and booked two rooms. Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Ryan, and Gravus were in one room, while Erza, Lucy, Wendy, and Juvia were in the other. The rooms were extremely large and gave each mage more than enough room. Gravus looked at his bed, then at the area around it, and pulled a large weapon rack out of a shadowy hole, before placing all of his weapons on the rack. Gajeel pulled out some pieces of scrap metal to munch on, Natsu played with a Zippo lighter he had recently acquired, Gray filled a bucket with ice, and Ryan pulled out several beers and placed them in the bucket. Gravus pulled out a beer, opened it, and reclined on his bed. He sipped while Natsu inhaled the tiny fire from the lighter, closed the cap, and opened it again. The men all relaxed; the trip had been tiring.

In the girls' room, Erza had set up a folding closet from her luggage case. She put several armors in and nodded with satisfaction. Lucy had called out Plue and was gently petting and hugging him while he shivered on her lap. Juvia was looking through a small book filled with pictures of Gray, and Wendy was lying on her bed thinking. They all began to relax and chat; everyone was tired. The girls settled on their beds and suddenly the topic drifted to one that made Erza and Wendy freeze: guys. Lucy and Loke were dating somehow, and Lucy was not afraid to say this, while Juvia was wondering if Gray was in love with anyone. Erza had no idea if she herself was in love or not. She had recently been feeling odd around Natsu, who wasn't acting normal, either. Wendy was just not ready for this stuff yet, as she was only 12 years old. Lucy and Juvia continued to talk while Erza sat quietly. She had slight feelings for Natsu; this much was true. But she couldn't trust her own heart to take the leap and tell Natsu she loved him. Jellal had broken her heart, and she had worn armor over her heart ever since. Jellal could have changed; she had hoped for this. But all her hopes were crushed when she faced him. He was irreversibly damaged, and had toyed with her feelings before crushing her heart yet again. But Natsu had arrived, comforted her, and fought for her. He had even gone as far to eat the Etherion to defeat Jellal. After the fight, she still remembered the promise Natsu had made to her. _'Don't let anyone make you cry, Erza! You're stronger than all of your enemies! And if anyone makes you cry, I promise I will find them and destroy them!'_ The Tower then started to shake, and Erza realized what she had to do. A world without Fairy Tail and her friends wasn't possible, so she had to sacrifice herself to save everyone. She had started to slip in to the Etherion and saw Natsu screaming, trying to save her. She then saw her funeral, where everyone was crying and extremely depressed. Everyone but Natsu, that is. He yelled that Erza wasn't dead and asked why she had done this. The next moment, she opened her eyes and was standing in Natsu's arms. They were in the water close to shore, and Natsu was swaying. That was the first moment when she knew how far Natsu would go to make her happy. She had blushed and when Natsu collapsed, she had started to cry, until he looked up at her and reassured her he was perfectly fine.

"Erza, are you okay?" Wendy's quiet question brought the redhead out of her thoughts. Erza realized she had started to cry, and nodded quickly. Wendy seemed to buy this and climbed into bed. Erza did likewise and called to Lucy and Juvia to rest up. The girls turned out the lights, and soon they were asleep.

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The birds were singing their song, and Natsu was grumbling. He didn't like to wake up early enough to watch the sunrise, and that was what he and his team had done. They were going to the forest to take care of several monsters in the area that were destroying whole districts of cities. So far, the forest was peaceful. Gravus was strolling ahead, Dani and Kiba in their knife form in his sleeves, Soul hanging in his left hand, and Blair across his shoulders. Ryan was next to him, a rocket in his hands. Erza was right behind them, talking with Juvia, Lucy, and Wendy. Gajeel, Gray, and Natsu were bickering at the back again. This continued for a mile or so until a tick mark formed on Gravus's forehead. He mumbled something darkly and pulled out a pair of headphones before slipping them on and smiling. Erza turned around and glared at the three mages, growling. Natsu looked up and froze, before nudging Gajeel and Gray. The two looked up, and all three walked quietly. Erza nodded, and then turned back to Lucy, Juvia, and Wendy. Their conversation continued, until Gravus froze. He motioned the group off the road, before sheathing Soul and Blair behind him, and then slipping on a dark face mask and gloves. He let Dani and Kiba slip out and he crouched in the shadows, merging with them completely. A group of bandits moved down the road, laughing and dragging a few people behind them with chains. Gravus slipped in a blur under the bandits and disappeared into the shadows again. A bandit tripped and dropped his chain, only to have another stumble into him. They all stumbled about until blood spurted. A bandit looked at his arm, and then at his hand. His hand was on the ground. A scream pierced the air, and the bandits saw Gravus right above them. He swiped his hands at them, and they all covered their heads. When the bandits looked up, the captives were gone. The chains were wrapped around them, and Team Natsu was walking down the roads with the captives laughing. Natsu was walking next to Erza, and he tried to hide his face so Erza wouldn't see the blush. Erza was doing the same, but wondering if Natsu would ever know what love meant.

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The town where the captives had come from was rather quiet. Natsu and Erza had gone around looking for clues as to where the monsters might be, but no one wanted to talk. They walked back, defeated, to a forest clearing, where everyone else was staying. Gravus was explaining to Wendy and Gajeel how to use air and metal, respectively, as camouflage and transportation. Natsu started listening, and suddenly noticed that only Gravus's upper body was there. He appeared to be sitting cross-legged, but a closer look showed that he had merged his legs with the shadows from the fire.

"Just imagine yourself as the element, and picture yourself merging with it. Do this until you firmly believe that it's the truth, and it should work. If it doesn't, try coating yourself with your element, and it might work," Gravus instructed. Wendy nodded, and Gajeel summoned his Iron Dragon Scales. Wendy closed her eyes. She pictured herself as a cloud, blowing away in the wind. She left her head as a picture to keep. When she opened her eyes, she looked down. She gasped, because her legs were wisps of air blowing about. Wendy looked at Gajeel. He was standing against a large metal chunk and sinking in. She focused and slowly began to disappear into thin air. When she noticed she was invisible, she decided to pull a prank. Wendy drifted up to Lucy and leaned to the celestial mage's ear.

"Hey Lucy," Wendy whispered. Lucy screamed and looked around, but only saw a few wisps of mist. Gravus's head appeared from Lucy's shadow and he laughed like crazy. Lucy tried to frantically slap Gravus, but each time she made contact Gravus turned into shadowy wisps. Lucy calmed down after Gravus and Wendy materialized and sat down. The two Dragon Slayers were laughing their heads off with Gray and Juvia, while Erza simply smiled. Lucy thought for a moment before suddenly jumping up.

"Where's Natsu and Gajeel?!" Lucy screamed. Gajeel popped his arm out of her belt buckle and waved. Everyone laughed at Gajeel's antics, and when his feet and head popped out of Lucy's key ring, everyone lost it. A tick mark grew to an immense size on Lucy's head, and she glared at Gajeel's face. Gajeel sighed, and popped out next to her. He sat down and tried to keep a straight face. Pantherlily flew to his shoulder and pulled a fish out of nowhere. Gajeel looked sideways at the black Exceed.

"Lily, the hell you doin'? You stick around Salamander's cat too often. You even eat and act like him now!" Gajeel muttered. Lily shrugged and continued eating.

"Aye!" Happy shouted. He and Carla flew down and sat by the fire. The group sat around the fire, laughing and chatting, but keeping an eye out. After all, monsters were still out there. Gravus sat with Wendy, Gajeel, and Natsu for the first watch. Gravus was playing with the shadows, twisting them to create a sort of puppet show. The night was suddenly quiet as the fire died down. Gravus looked up, and closed his eyes.

'_Guys, time to blend in,'_ Gravus telepathically told the Dragon Slayers. They nodded and the four blended in to their elements. A dark shape dashed to a short distance outside the clearing, before sniffing the air. It slowly headed for Lucy, who was asleep. Gravus drew a black dagger from the shadows and crept up to the beast's shadow. As the beast was about to pounce, Gravus quickly jumped on its back and stabbed the dagger into the fur. Only the blade didn't reach flesh. Gravus cursed and jumped back into the shadows, and waved Gajeel over to him. The two whispered for a moment, before Gajeel merged with Gravus's dagger. Gravus slipped into the shadows, where Wendy surrounded him with her cloudy form. Natsu leaped to Gravus's hand as a fireball, which turned into a dragon like gauntlet. Gravus opened his eyes, which were a blend of hazel, red, black, and dark blue. He leaped at the beast, which had stood up, and suddenly the dagger became a black sword with a serrated back edge. He slashed and jabbed, while blades of fire and wind flew about. Erza opened her eyes and saw what was going on. She quickly scrambled up and woke up Lucy, Gray, and Juvia. The four stepped back, as it looked like Gravus could handle this. Gravus slashed off chunks of fur from the beast, and it growled again. The beast swiped a dark blade at Gravus from its talons, but Gravus inhaled the blade. He continued to slash and jab until a blade caught him off guard and hit his stomach, causing him to roll back and gasp. The hidden armor Gravus had worn had protected him, but the attack still hurt. Erza wanted to badly help, but couldn't decide on an armor. Lucy was too shocked to do anything, and Gray and Juvia were tired as hell. Gravus continued to clash, and Erza summoned her Black Wing Armor. She rushed at the monster's back, trapping it between her blade and Gravus's blade. The beast roared, and was slashed in half. Gravus nodded his thanks, and the four Dragon Slayers separated.

"This beast was no normal wolf," Gravus muttered. He crouched down to examine the fur, and gasped in surprise. The fur was flowing and wispy, like shadows. The fur was quickly stripped from the beast and packed in Gravus's shadow dimension. The group packed up and looked about, still wary of monsters. Gravus motioned for them to follow him, and they did. When they emerged from the trees, the mages saw a monster sitting there, leering at a young woman. Gravus's eyes widened upon seeing the woman; he grabbed Blair and instantly she transformed into her Arcing Blade of Darkness form. He rushed forward, and Erza, Gray, Juvia, Lucy, Gajeel, Wendy, and Natsu noticed something: he was entering Dragon Force. His body was shrouded in shadows and his arms had dark gauntlets. His eyes were glowing, and his face had scales crawling up. He swung the blade at the monster, which looked like an ogre. A wave of pure darkness erupted from the large blade and hit the monster. The ogre roared in anger at being damaged so much. It didn't expect to see the creature that caused it pain to disappear. At least the woman was still there. Wait. Another interferer? This was- A large cross of darkness erupted on the monster and slashed it. Gravus was standing behind it with his sword on his shoulder. Erza and Lucy were running towards the woman, with the rest of Team Natsu close behind. Gravus ran quickly to the woman and looked closely at her. He stepped back in surprise, and then groaned. The woman seemed just as surprised.

"What's going on?" Wendy asked. Gravus simply shook his head. Gray and Natsu seemed confused, while Gajeel was bored. Ryan looked closely at the woman and sighed.

"That woman is a ghost of my past," Gravus muttered. He turned around and put on a sad look. "I guess I have no choice but to face my past." Gravus walked to the woman, and smiled gently. He held out his hand, which she took, and suddenly his leg shot out at her. The woman dodged well and returned the kick. They continued to trade blows until Gravus flashed behind the woman and grabbed her arms. She froze, and he sighed. He released her, and she turned to face him.

"It's been quite a long time, Sabrina," Gravus said. He looked up with a lost, darkened look. Sabrina nodded, and finally spoke.

"Why didn't you tell any of your other friends you were going to disappear, Ch-" Sabrina angrily shouted before Gravus covered her mouth.

"Don't drag up my past anymore, Sabrina. I don't need to relive that living hell," Gravus whispered. Gray looked questioningly at Ryan, who simply shook his head.

"Why not?" Sabrina asked when Gravus had removed his hand.

"Because I had finally found a purpose in life, after you and nearly everyone had abandoned me."

"We didn't abandon you!"

"No? Then why would everyone pretend to be busy after I talked to them? Why would everyone laugh behind my back? I trusted you, and you all flung me away!"

"…"

"Why? Why would you do that?"

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know how much you had suffered. We were too blind to see into your heart."

"Nobody would listen. Nobody could see what I wanted them to see, and so I fell more. When I finally went to rid myself from the world, they encouraged me. You were with them. Only two people could see my pain, and stopped me."

At this Team Natsu looked sadly at Gravus. He evidently had a messed up past, and didn't want to think about it. Gravus then began to speak again, in the same quiet voice.

"When I lost my family, my second family, and my closest friends, I couldn't feel any happiness in the world anymore. I realized that you only know how much someone is worth when it's too late to tell them, and I got depressed even more. I wanted someone to see my suffering and to comfort me, but everyone treated me like an outcast. When I came to our group reunion, everyone pretended like I either didn't exist, was a stranger, or wasn't invited. I felt so alone, and I wanted to see the people who I finally treasured. So at a party I was hosting, I gave a speech, and then proceeded to pull out a knife and cut my throat.

"But before I could do that, two people who felt the pull of my depression managed to stop me. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, before a lot of people yelled that I should go on. But I couldn't, as I could feel the pull of two spirits. People who I thought I had lost long ago, people who convinced me to stay alive. For them. Soon later, I discovered my magic powers, the ability to control any weapon I put my hands on. But I accidentally stored one away one day while in a store, and I had to run. I also realized my ability to use parkour as I was escaping. But I met up with Ryan at a bar, where I knew that my past was going to haunt me. But, it seemed that we both had magic skills, and we were both wanted. So I got a hooded cloak and Ryan got a jacket. We walked off into the forest, and I met up with Dani and Kiba, just sitting there. Dani was in the middle of a wolf pack, which didn't surprise us, as she was obsessed with wolves since her childhood.

"And from that point on, we developed our magic more. One day we split up, promising to return in two years at the same exact spot. I found a dragon called Gravus, and he taught me all about darkness. I learned how to use both light and darkness to my advantage, and one day he said he had to leave. That day was the 9th day of the 9th month in X779. I kept walking, until I developed the Weapon Dragon Slayer abilities. I eventually learned to control people who could become weapons. In a city filled with gangs, I met Blair and Soul. They were Demon Weapons, and we decided to team up. I then traveled back with them as the new Gravus to the meeting spot. I was early, and decided to set up camp for a few days. Eventually we all reunited, and Dani turned out to be a Demon Weapon as well. Things went pretty quickly, and I met others. Only Pyrus and Lilica stayed, though. Eventually, I reached Fiore, and then you guys met my group." Gravus ended his tale. Erza was starting to cry, as she remembered her childhood in the Tower of Heaven. Natsu was also crying, but clenching his fists in anger. What sort of a friend would laugh at you and encourage suicide? Gray knew how Gravus must have felt when he lost his family. Wendy and Carla were thinking of when they had lost Cait Shelter. Gajeel was looking down, know wondering where Metalicana was. Lucy thought of her father, and how she had run away to escape his greed. Juvia thought of when Phantom Lord had turned from the warm home she had into a cold, lifeless cage, and when she had joined Fairy Tail and found a new family. All of the members of Team Natsu were thinking how alike Gravus was to them. Would a normal person from Gravus's past want to be with him? Probably not. Would they? Definitely. After all, everyone in Fairy Tail was different, yet they were all the same. Many had lost a family member or their entire family; in any case, Fairy Tail was a large family. Sabrina looked rather depressed and looked at Gravus. She knew that he had a difficult past, and that she had not supported him when he seemed to need it, but knowing all this… She really should have been there for him. She noticed Natsu was asking her something.

"I'm sorry; what were you saying?" Sabrina asked.

"I said, why don't you stay at Fairy Tail, as you haven't told us where you live?" Natsu repeated. Sabrina nodded slowly, until Gravus finally spoke again.

"I have extra rooms in my house." That was all he said. It wasn't a direct invitation, but it wasn't like he was ignoring the woman. Sabrina nodded slowly, and sighed. Gravus, as he was now called, was so… _different_. She remembered how he would constantly sigh and look far away, before smiling gently. Or how he would furrow his brow, trying to figure out the defense move he was learning in their martial arts studio. Now he seemed to have hardly any life left in him, his heart gone; his spirit a weakly flickering flame. Sabrina then looked to his new friends. They seemed a fun group, one that made you feel like you were home, but as of now they were still downcast at hearing about Gravus's past. Sabrina looked down, and then she noticed the group headed towards the coast. She sighed again, and trudged after Team Natsu.

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Sabrina was surprised at how similar the extra room in Gravus's house was to hers at home. She looked at the plain blue bed sheets, the dark brown desk and matching dresser, and then looked back to her closet. It had been only a week or so when she saw C- Gravus again, and already she had half a closet's worth of clothes. It was funny how Gravus would always be quick about talking to her. At first Sabrina assumed it was because the mage didn't want to relive the past, but now she thought it might be because he was noticing her. She giggled to herself at thinking that Gravus would be interested in her. He probably wouldn't though, as he seemed to have a steady relationship with Blair. _'Oh well, at least he hasn't tried to-'_Sabrina suddenly was pushed down by a blur, and she grunted as her arms hit the bed. The blur was chuckling, but she wasn't. Sabrina had been pushed to her bed, bending over, and the blur was right above and behind her. Luckily, her long black hair hid her deep blush that would have rivaled Erza's hair in color. The blur started to clear up, and it revealed a grinning Gravus. He leaned in to whisper to her.

"Hey," he whispered. Sabrina shuddered at his tone, but tried to turn her head a bit to talk. Big mistake. Sabrina turned her head, and Gravus's hand poked her cheek. She groaned at the lame prank, while Gravus chuckled again.

"Can you move? It's kind of embarrassing right now," Sabrina said. Her face was extremely red, and Gravus laughed.

"Fine," the shadowy man said. He relented and backed up, leaving a very embarrassed and red Sabrina behind.

"Thanks…" Sabrina muttered. She got up and turned to face Gravus, who was headed towards the door. "Why did you do that?"

"To test you." Gravus gave a simple answer and his face hardened again. "Come on; I'm heading on a mission today, and I don't want to be late." Gravus was anxious to see Sabrina get to the guild safely, and he started to rub a marble in his pocket. The marble was shiny and smoothed after being rubbed for many years, and it was one of Gravus's most prized possessions.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Sabrina muttered. She put on her jacket and followed Gravus out the door.

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Gravus had left Sabrina to bond with the other guild members and was now sitting on the train, a small smile on his lips. Blair had curled up in his lap in her cat form, and Ryan was guzzling his beer again by the keg. Natsu was sleeping peacefully on Erza's lap (lucky bastard!), while she absentmindedly stroked the pink locks of the mage using her legs as a pillow. Lucy and Gray were talking about the mission, while Juvia was trying to pull Gray away from Lucy. Gajeel was groaning and clutching his stomach, while Wendy was giggling at him. Gajeel had been rude to the young girl, so she refused to cast Troia on the wild-looking man. Gravus looked to his bone knives and pulled them out of his sash. The handles were decorated to look like tiger stripes, and the blade flared out at the bottom to form a hand guard. A wide channel ran down the middle. Gravus sighed and tucked the blades back into his black sash. He wore a dark shirt, a black scale mail vest, scale-covered leggings, and black boots. His spiky hair was let down and hung in front of his eyes. Gravus thought of his original magic and how he had almost forgotten it, as his Weapon Dragon Slayer powers supplemented it. Erza suddenly yawned and closed her eyes, causing Natsu to stir. _'They have been awake for quite a while,'_ Wendy thought. She was sitting next to Gravus, stroking Blair's fur. The cat yawned and closed her large eyes, purring. Wendy thought of how she had seemed even more useless now since a Dragon Slayer with more offensive capabilities was with them. If a healer joined, she would be completely obsolete. Wendy started to cry a little at the thought, and Gravus smelled the tears. '_She needs comfort and a true friend,' _Gravus thought. He put Blair on his spot and tapped Wendy on the shoulder.

"Let's go to the back," Gravus said. Wendy nodded and rose. The two exited the compartment and walked to the back of the train.

"So why are you crying, Wendy?" Gravus asked after a few minutes of gazing at the trees and hills flowing past the railings.

"I-it's nothing, Gravus-san…"Wendy quietly said. She sniffed and looked down.

"Just tell me, Wendy. I might not look it, but I'm supposedly a great listener," Gravus said encouragingly. He ruffled the young girl's hair and waited.

"Well, it's just… I just feel so useless!" Wendy cried out.

"Why? I don't think you're useless."

"Natsu-san and Gajeel-san have more offensive capabilities, and Erza-san, Juvia-san, Gray-san, and Lucy-san are so much stronger than I am! Why can't I be strong like them?" Wendy's outburst took Gravus by surprise, but he knew exactly how the young Dragon Slayer felt.

"Wendy, you just have to believe in your own powers. I used to feel useless when on a team, too. I couldn't do anything right, I couldn't get anything done, and I was constantly surpassed by people much younger than I was. It got me down for a while, but I finally realized that I could do it. So believe that you can, Wendy. And come up with new techniques. That definitely helps!" Gravus offered. Wendy was quiet for a time before nodding and smiling.

"Thank you, Gravus-san."

"Just Gravus is fine. I'm not exactly used to the san, Wendy."

"O-okay, Gravus-s- Gravus," Wendy said. She blushed lightly at the slip and smiled. It had been so long since anyone had told her that no formalities were needed, and it reminded her of happier times. The two returned to their train compartment and found Gray grinning evilly at a glaring Gajeel, who was quite green. Gray was tossing food and iron at the Iron Dragon Slayer, who looked hungry. Gray was about to throw more food at Gajeel before he noticed a black, wispy aura at the door.

"I suggest you stop before I make _you_ motion sick, Gray," Gravus said. It was quiet, but the cold tone was obvious. Gray shuddered and nodded, returning to his seat next to Juvia and Lucy. Wendy casted Troia on Gajeel, who got up and instantly opened his mouth to bicker with Gray, but Gravus launched a black tendril at Gajeel, and the green glow reappeared aside his head before disappearing. Gajeel instantly fell to the floor, his hands covering his mouth. He crawled to the window and threw up.

"That is what will happen if you all argue again," Gravus stated the rules. Gajeel and Gray nodded, and Wendy sighed. She cast Troia yet again, and swallowed some air. Gravus sat next to her and smiled gently at her.

"Don't worry, okay?" Wendy looked up at the almost father-like figure next to her, and she grinned.

"Okay!"

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A wall was smashed down as Natsu blasted his way through a small dark guild. The guild had been using people's magic to boost their own powers, and had left many a mage powerless, heartbroken, and, in some cases, dead. Anyone in Fairy Tail and Magnolia would have known that Natsu would flare up at this. But Natsu did more than flare up. He turned himself into a giant fireball, blasting half of the front guild wall down. Gravus lost his calm demeanor and his body became covered in a shadowy armor of scales, blending with his normal clothes. The only difference was that of a cloth mask covering the lower half of his face. He wielded his twin bone knives this time, the flashing streaks of white contrasting with his black body. The guild had proven little resistance, but when a mage summoned an army of monsters somehow, Erza knew that the guild was extremely strong.

"Ice-Make: Cold Excalibur!" Gray shouted. He formed a large sword of ice and swung it at a dark mage.

"Gaaahh!" The mage flew into a wall and crumpled. Gray looked over to Leo and Taurus, who were defending Lucy, and then to Juvia and Gajeel, the two managing to hold off a horde of monsters. Natsu was taking on about ten monsters next to Erza, who had her Heaven's Wheel Armor on. Ryan was firing shot after shot, but the monsters kept swarming. Wendy had tried her best, and even used winds to make her attacks stronger, but her Wind Sword could barely fend off the ogres.

"Heheheheheheee! Die, Fairy Tail! Give me your magic so I can be stronger! Ahahahaha!" A maniacal laugh resounded through the building, and Gravus suddenly looked up. His eyes were starting to glow, and he glared. The guild master walked out, grinning evilly. He was a short man with jeans and a black shirt. His cackle continued, before he stopped.

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Miga! And you… are dead." The man lifted his palms and charged a ball in front of him.

"No!" Gravus shouted. His eyes glowed and suddenly, Erza and Natsu, who were closest to him, noticed his eyes change. His right eye became a dark purple with concentric rings or ripples spreading to the edges, and each ring had three tomoe on it. Gravus's other eye was completely black, with swirls of purple, like a box of pure darkness.

"Eternal Mangekyou Rinnegan: Ultimate Mirror Wheel Eye!" Gravus bellowed. His right eye glowed, and the tomoe began to spin until each ring nearly touched the other. The purple started to glow a dark red, before the eye fully became blood-red. A large shuriken-like design was present, with the rings black on the red and red on the design. "Gravuteratsu: Eye of Darkness!" Gravus yelled again. His eyes glowed and he concentrated black energy on his hands, and tightly clutched his knives.

"It's time to do this. Second Release: Twin Soul Resonance! Black Claws of the Winter Wolf!" Gravus's knives glowed darkly, and suddenly the glow enveloped his forearms. Points started to extend, and then sharply turned. When the glow cleared, Gravus had black scale mail gauntlets, with plates on the back of his hands and forearms. He clenched his hands into a fist and let his thumb extend. Three large blades protruded from between his fingers, and turned at a right angle to make claws. A blade covered part of his thumb and extended a bit to make a large talon. Gravus grinned widely and swiped at the monsters all about. Blades of air flew around and slashed the monsters into bits.

"Wh-what was that?" Erza asked. She ducked and cut through another monster.

"I don't know, but it definitely helped us a lot!" Natsu replied. He fired off a blast of fire from his mouth over Erza and cooked the monster behind her. Gravus suddenly appeared right in front of Miga and summoned forth a magic seal.

"Darkness Dragon's Roar!" Gravus shouted. A large beam of pure darkness blasted Miga in his chest and sent him into a wall hard enough for him to bounce back. Gravus instantly flashed in front of Miga and delivered a series of slashes.

"Sixty-four Strike Technique: Full Force Strike!" Gravus sent a final slash with a blast of darkness from his weapon. Miga's eyes bulged as a large gash opened up. He flew into a wall yet again, and the wall started to crumble.

"Why is Gravus acting like this? He doesn't seem like the one to lose control!" Wendy shouted. Gajeel shrugged.

"No idea, kid. Something definitely triggered him when that Miga dude walked out, so it might have to do with him." Gajeel's reply was short. He slashed through another monster and looked at Wendy. She had created two katanas of wind, and was wielding them with deadly force. Who would have guessed that the shy, young healer would be such a good fighter? Wendy dodged a large axe and cut apart the monster wielding it. She thought of how Gravus had always seemed so calm, so gentle, and yet… when he entered battle, he was different. His eyes looked cold and unfeeling, and he was quite ruthless. Suddenly Gajeel filled her vision.

"Now isn't the time to be daydreaming, kid! We have to concentrate! These people are stronger than we anticipated!" Gajeel shouted. Wendy nodded and rushed at the monsters. Monsters fell to Fairy Tail's strongest team, yet more kept coming. Gray and Juvia were back-to-back, using their powers in conjunction with each other, but were slowly getting overwhelmed. Gravus was attempting to finish off Miga to stop the flow of monsters. Miga suddenly blasted Gravus with a dark ray.

"Dark Beam!" Miga yelled. He smirked when Gravus was hit dead on in the chest, but suddenly frowned. Something wasn't right. Miga stepped down to the smoking crater, and opened his eyes wide when he saw a silhouette appear. It was Gravus, and he was holding the beam in his hands, eating it like it was a snack. "H-how?! You should be dead!" Miga was shocked. No one had survived that blast before.

"Well, I _am_ the Darkness Dragon Slayer, after all. That was tasty." Gravus swallowed the last of his "snack", and gave a feral grin. "Now to get serious. Darkness Dragon's Claws!" Gravus surrounded his feet in shadows and flashed in front of Miga, kicking the master multiple times. Each kick sent the dark guild master farther towards the monsters, and suddenly a few vanished as they were about to hit Miga.

"So that's his weakness, eh…" Natsu muttered. He rushed at a monster, luring it. Natsu ran behind Miga, and as the monster swung its axe, it disappeared. Miga growled and blasted beams of darkness everywhere. Erza, Ryan, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Gajeel, and Natsu were too busy fighting to notice the beams, and they were about to get hit. _'Shit!' _Gravus thought. He breathed in and sucked all of the darkness up, barely managing to save his team. Gravus sighed and turned to face Miga.

"Is that all you've got? I've faced better fighters without magic," Gravus taunted. Miga scowled and sent several beams from seals all around Gravus to hit the darkly clad man.

"Die, you insolent fairy!" Miga shouted. The area was covered in smoke, and Miga narrowed his eyes. The smoke cleared, revealing Gravus with his gauntlet claws covered in shadows. He looked up, grinning. Miga was surprised by the crossed slashes on his chest and legs that suddenly appeared, with Gravus leaving an afterimage as he dashed by at inhuman speeds. Miga gasped for air, deciding to use it.

"Darkness Control: Subspace Destruction!" Miga roared. A dark orb tinted with purple and red at the edges appeared in his outstretched hands, and he roared. The orb grew bigger until it swallowed everyone in the building up. _'Where the hell am I? And where's Erza?!' _Natsu thought. He was panicking. A gold token had appeared at his feet and was turning him into stone.

"Erza! Gray! Lucy! Anyone?! Help!" Natsu yelled out. No one seemed to hear him, but then he noticed something. Team Natsu, save for Gravus, was frozen in stone. They all had tokens at their feet, and looked surprised.

"Oi! Salamander!" A voice called out.

"Gajeel? Is that Wendy with you?" Natsu called back.

"Natsu-san, please, you have to escape! I think we can escape!" Wendy yelled. She casted Troia, and suddenly, to the Dragonslayers' shock, the stone began to slowly recede.

"Wendy, you've figured it out!" Natsu yelled with a smile. Wendy nodded and quickly cast Troia on Gajeel and Natsu. Natsu stepped towards the two, but when he stepped off his token he began to fall.

"Gaaaaah!" Natsu yelled out. He flailed his arms and tried to boost himself up with fire, but only managed to turn upside down and hurtle towards the abyss.

"Natsu-san!" Wendy yelled out. She couldn't do anything to help.

"Got you!" Gravus called out. He emerged from the darkness, wings sprouting from his back. Natsu landed in his outstretched arms. The bony parts seemed to be blades, but the thin part in between was wispy and dark. He casted a platform of darkness and moved it under Gajeel and Wendy, before landing on it. He sighed and looked about.

"I remember this place… The only place where you can never truly die. A living hell, to be exact," Gravus muttered. He sighed and looked at Wendy.

"You figured out how to escape, eh? I told you that you were strong and smart," Gravus said kindly. He ruffled Wendy's hair and looked at a glowing light in the distance. Wendy smiled at the new mage's compliment, seeing him more as a father figure than a fellow mage.

"Where are we?" Natsu asked. Gajeel nodded, scratching his head.

"Subspace. A world of eternal darkness that we can only escape by going through the doors. Any Darkness Magic user can access it, but only if they know how to. The fact that Miga knew how to is disturbing," Gravus explained.

"Then let's go and get out of here!" Natsu yelled. Gravus shook his head and pointed to the statues.

"What about your nakama?" Gravus asked. Natsu growled, but nodded. Wendy cast Troia yet again, and fell down. She was panting and tired. Gravus picked her up and set her on his shoulders, making her giggle.

"Wendy, eat some air. We have to get going once they are ready," Gravus said. Wendy nodded and called out to the rest of Team Natsu.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Wendy yelled. The group nodded, and Gravus watched as odd crystals began to form a path to the door. Team Natsu headed out to the exit, waiting to see what was in store for them.

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Juvia marveled at the dark area. It looked so entrancing, so mesmerizing… But she then remembered what it did to her and she shuddered. The feeling of being a living statue was quite unpleasant. She snuggled closer to Gray, unwittingly making him blush as her large… curves pressed against the shirtless mage. Lucy was shivering, inside Horologium, constantly complaining about the dark. The world was filled with many monsters, none too pleasant. Erza walked on, stoic as ever, while Natsu grumbled about "the place being too boring", making Ryan groan at the fiery boy's antics. Wendy tried to see as far as she could on Gravus's shoulders, but saw only darkness. Gravus suddenly held up a hand to shush the group.

"There's something ahead… Oh shit…" Gravus said, clearly alarmed. The monster approaching looked like a mass of shadows shaped into a humanoid with a red, glowing core. Twin blades were attached to its forearms, and it rushed at the group.

"Crap! Darkness Dragon's Talon Gauntlet!" Gravus shouted. His arms became enveloped in darkness like plates, and claws sprouted from his top knuckles. Each claw looked like a dagger blade, but much longer, at least three feet long. He swiped continuously, trying to prevent the monster from reaching Wendy, who was right behind him. Gravus continued to slice and dice, with his team unable to move. The _thing_ instilled fear of something so great in each of their hearts that they were frozen. But Ryan seemed to be able to move.

"Move it, Gravus!" Ryan yelled. Gravus leapt up to an insanely high height, and Ryan Requipped his Panzer IV Armor. The monster felt the full force of a 75 millimeter high explosive shell infused with Etherion. Which translates roughly to hurting more than a beating dished out by Erza. Which hurts. A lot. Gravus suddenly began to glow gold, white, and red. The glow blew away in wisps that seemed to hide him, and they showed Gravus with a white, hooded jacket to his lower legs with black and blue trimmings, metal bracers, boots, an armored vest-like chest armor piece, and a sash. His sash had a buckle shaped like an upside down V, and knives were tucked in at intervals.

"Now, my oldest, and best, magic. Requip: the Assassin!" Gravus yelled out. He landed right behind the creature's back. With a flick of his wrist, a blade extended from his right bracer, and he shoved it deep into the creature's back. He then pulled out, drew two knives and walked past, leaving a cross-shaped gash. A swift back kick sent the shadowy blob into the depths, where a blast of energy shot out of. Gravus returned to his scale mail outfit and walked on. _'What power…' _Erza thought. The group began moving again.

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"When can we get out? It's like we're in a maze!" Natsu yelled impatiently. They had traveled through several worlds already, and Gravus turned around.

"It's quite a coincidence that you would say that. I believe we are in the section known as the Great Maze," Gravus said. The team sighed. Where was the exit? There seemed to be no exit at all! This place was called the Great Maze for all the right reasons. Many odd monsters, like a tiny little group of humanoid figures, appeared, but they were all "too easy" for Natsu and Gray. Natsu and Gajeel began to grumble about the monsters, until Gravus motioned for them to be quiet. A ghostly apparition appeared, made out of squares in a black aura. Gravus growled and the four Dragonslayers shot their elements at the object. Surprisingly, the ghost appeared unharmed, and seemed to be getting stronger.

"That's it. We can't do this by hitting one time. Darkness Dragon's Destructive Fist!" Gravus yelled. His hands were coated in swirling shadows, with the ends getting scalier and the fronts turning into points. Gravus rushed at the ghost and began to strike repeatedly.

"128 Strike Technique: Shattering Blow!" Gravus yelled. He struck at insane speeds, and, on the last blow, fired off a blast of shadow from the back of his fist, greatly increasing the speed and force of his punch. The ghost shattered apart and disappeared. Gravus let his shadow fists dissolve and fell to his knees, panting.

"Gravus! Are you okay?" Wendy yelled. She ran up to him, closely followed by Ryan, Natsu, and Gajeel.

"Yeah, just a… bit… tired, is… all," Gravus panted. He shook his head and got up. "That technique isn't supposed to be used with my darkness fists, and really wears me out." Natsu began to walk forward.

"Oi, matchstick, where do you think you're going?" Gray yelled. Natsu shrugged. Gray was about to go after him, but Gravus held him back.

"Natsu is going in the right direction. Don't worry about this." Gravus reassured the shirtless mage. He walked on, and the group continued.

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"Finally! We made it!" Natsu yelled. He fell to the ground and kissed it, earning a laugh from Gray.

"What are you doing? Trying to find love? You look like a freaking idiot!" Gray was laughing his head off, until a sinister voice called out to them.

"Ah, you made it. Too bad you will still die at my hands!" Miga yelled. He was floating in the air, and grinned evilly.

"I don't think so!" Gajeel yelled. "Iron Dragon's Sword!" His arm morphed into a chainsaw-like weapon, and he charged Miga. Miga blocked several times, but was cut badly.

"Ground Zero!" Miga yelled. Gajeel fell into a black pit and floated there.

"Darkness Dragon's Armor!" Gravus yelled. Dark energy swirled about, unlike his other attacks, and slowly solidified. It cleared to reveal him in a scale mail shirt, gauntlets with odd spike-like decorations on the back, pauldrons with large spikes, a dark full helm that was vaguely reminiscent of a dragon's head, upper arm guards, dark greaves with jagged edges, black steel-toed boots, and scale mail leggings. He drew Blair in her normal form and held her in front of him. The hanging strawberry ornament slowly glowed, and Gravus pulled on it. A short sword was drawn out, and he held the two in a defensive stance. Miga charged, dark ghosts all about. Gravus simply blocked each and every ghost until they faded away.

"Is that all you got?" Gravus taunted. Miga growled and lashed out, causing Gravus to leap up. He swiped his blades, causing an X of darkness to head towards Miga. Miga expected his own attack to block it, but was surprised to see the attack get swallowed up by the X. Miga barely dodged, getting wide gashes on his arms and legs. Gravus grinned widely and twirled around his short sword. Thin blades of darkness flew from it, and Miga was constantly running.

"Subspace Destruction!" Miga yelled. A beam of the same stuff from the Subspace Realm shot from his hands at Gravus. Gravus simply inhaled it, and blasted Miga with several bullets of darkness from his mouth. Miga grunted and continued to press his advantage when Gravus slipped. Gravus gritted his teeth and continued to block. Miga was about to hit him point-blank when Gravus used his armored hand to knock Miga away. Several kicks followed, with the last two sending Miga into the air and back down into the ground.

"Soaring Eagle!" Gravus yelled. Miga was stuck in the crater he had made when he landed, and was stuck up to his neck in a surge of darkness. Chains were revealed when Miga attempted to get out, and Gravus smirked.

"Let's just leave him for the Council. Our job is done." Gravus turned and headed to the door, everyone staring in awe. "Oh, and Erza?"

"Hm?" Erza snapped out of her daze.

"When we get back, I challenge you to a fight. I'd like to test my strength against you." Gravus was dead serious.

"Eh?!"

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**Done! Third chapter has concluded, and I have leaned back. This chapter took forever, and I hope to post a few oneshots soon. So stay tuned! AND PLEASE REVIEW, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I'm crying tears like Makarov, and that isn't good for my laptop.**


	4. I Need Help!

**Hey! I'm back, with another uber-long chapter! But if anyone asks why my last chapter was so long, it's because I was motivated and unsatisfied with ending it at some points. AND REVIEW, GOD DAMNIT! I really want reviews… *Begins crying like Juvia. If anyone is wondering why my titles aren't exactly making sense, well, that's just how it is. Anyways, read, review, and enjoy! I still don't own Fairy Tail, even though I tried some "trade secrets". So yeah! Enjoy! Review, rate, fav, follow, and stuff, please.**

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**LAST TIME ON "WHAT IT MEANS":**

"Subspace Destruction!" Miga yelled. A beam of the same stuff from the Subspace Realm shot from his hands at Gravus. Gravus simply inhaled it, and blasted Miga with several bullets of darkness from his mouth. Miga grunted and continued to press his advantage when Gravus slipped. Gravus gritted his teeth and continued to block. Miga was about to hit him point-blank when Gravus used his armored hand to knock Miga away. Several kicks followed, with the last two sending Miga into the air and back down into the ground.

"Soaring Eagle!" Gravus yelled. Miga was stuck in the crater he had made when he landed, and was stuck up to his neck in a surge of darkness. Chains were revealed when Miga attempted to get out, and Gravus smirked.

"Let's just leave him for the Council. Our job is done." Gravus turned and headed to the door, everyone staring in awe. "Oh, and Erza?"

"Hm?" Erza snapped out of her daze.

"When we get back, I challenge you to a fight. I'd like to test my strength against you." Gravus was dead serious.

"Eh?!"

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**What IT Means**

**Chapter 4: I Need Help!**

"Gah?! The town will be destroyed!" Master Makarov was crying at the thought of what Gravus, who was more destructive than Natsu sometimes, and Erza might obliterate in their fight.

"That's what I thought, Master, but Erza would never back down," Lucy said. She chuckled, and thought of how Erza put her pride over nearly everything, except for strawberry cake and Fairy Tail. "Oh, well. That's Erza for ya!"

"But… I… I…" Makarov sighed deeply. "I guess we have to find someplace where the two can fight without us getting in the way and without anything causing too great a cost," Makarov mused.

"Did you say Erza and Gravus were planning to duel?" Mira cut in. The waitress had her bright smile on, and was rolling out two kegs of beer.

"Yes. Mira, why do you have two kegs? I thought only Cana-" Lucy was cut off by Mira's glance at Ryan. He never seemed to have been seen without some form of alcohol. "Oh."

"Master, why don't you try the beach? It's quite large, and we can all watch," Mira suggested.

"What a wise idea, Mira," Makarov said.

"Erza! Gravus! We have decided on a place for you two to spar, okay?" Makarov called out. Erza and Gravus looked up, before nodding. Gravus went back to pulling out random types of knives from his Requip space and tossing them up, before eating them like they were candy bars, while Erza went back to making sure the guild wasn't too rowdy. This, considering she had a slice of cake and her death glare on, was accomplished by her mere presence.

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"The duel between Gravus and Erza will now commence! Both mages are to fight until one either forfeits, collapses, or comes to a stalemate with the other. Understood?" Makarov's voice rang across the beach. Gravus shrugged, only dressed in a black shirt, black pants, and an open jacket hanging on his shoulders with a few strings of chain connecting the sides. Erza, already in her Heart Kreuz armor, was glaring at Gravus.

"Begin!" The two mages charged at each other, Erza preparing to strike with a slash. She swung her blade in a deadly arc, only to see Gravus grinning widely, showing razor-sharp teeth before passing her. A gasp rose from the audience. They all could see a large bite mark in Erza's blade and a bit of her gauntlet gone.

"W-wha?" Erza had no idea how that had happened.

"Did you forget that I was also a Weapon Dragon Slayer?" Gravus grinned, but it wasn't a grin between friends. It was a grin between two fighters who were aiming to utterly take the other out. He summoned a large claymore and gripped it loosely with one hand.

"No. However, to see you Requip as fast as I do is quite surprising," Erza said coolly. Gravus shrugged, hefted the large blade, and flickered away, only leaving his grin in the air.

"Surprise!" Gravus shouted as he slashed at Erza. The redhead blacked and was forced to use her other hand to steady her blade. _'What power,' _Erza thought. Gravus leapt away with a swipe, and charged again. Erza easily blocked this attack, but her sword was completely snapped in two. Gravus picked up the jagged blade remnants and ate them. His body seemed to glow, before a tattoo showed up. A black sword crossed a large shield on his right shoulder, and he grinned.

"I hope you're ready, Erza." Erza summoned another sword, and Gravus charged. His claymore glowed a dark color and sent out a blast of darkness. Many more smaller blades followed, and Erza had to Requip into her Flight Armor to evade the attacks. "Just as I expected. Why don't you show me more power, Erza? Would Natsu be happy if you held back? Would you be happy if I held back?" Gravus's question severely puzzled Erza. Would she be happy? In all her spars with Natsu, when he had a fighting chance, at least, they had given it their all. This was no different, and it was just like fighting a more mature Natsu. _'Okay, Erza, you have to focus. Look at this like a battle between two people who want to get stronger.'_ Erza steeled her resolve, Requipped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor, and summoned a small group of swords.

'_Finally,' _Gravus thought. "Soul! Now!" The white-haired teen looked up from the audience next to Lisanna, and nodded. In a flash, he was next to Gravus, and instantly turned into his katana form with a mini scythe blade at the pommel. A sheath appeared on Gravus's waist, and appeared to leak flames. Erza knew then that she had to really put up a good fight. After all, Gravus was grinning like a demon.

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"Uh oh," Levy muttered. Cana looked down from her barrel, which she had next to several bottles of wine for Ryan.

"Why?"

"Cana, look. Erza is exerting her aura."

"Hm. So it's red. What a coincidence."

"Yeah, but wait until you see Gravus exert his aura." Ryan had decided to join in and looked like he was positive Gravus could win.

"Where were you?" Cana asked.

"Helping set up a betting stand. Nearly everybody bet on Erza, and I plan on going home rich."

"Oh. I see."

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Gravus had grinned when Erza began to glow red, and focused on his magic energy. A large black cloak of energy appeared, with wispy tendrils around it. It grew until the cloak was around ten feet long.

"Surprised that I can do this? It's quite simple, Erza," Gravus commented on Erza's lightly raised eyebrows.

"Dance, my blades!" Erza responded with a quick Circle Sword, and sent more swords after Gravus.

"Tch. Simple." Gravus jumped calmly through the circle and kicked away all of the other swords, holding up Soul.

"It's time to do this! Eternal Mangekyou Rinnegan!" Gravus's right eye instantly turned purple with ripples and tomoe in it, and he grinned. The eye began to glow and the tomoe started to slowly circle.

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"What's happening to Gravus, Carla?" Wendy was a little scared by the eyes, even though she had seen them before.

"Don't worry, Wendy. He'll be fine. It looks like he's done this before," Carla muttered. _'And he has'_, the cat finished her thought in her head.

"I-if you say so, Carla…"

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

"So, you decided to activate one of your eyes," Erza called out. Gravus simply shrugged and sidestepped a blow the moment she started to draw back her blade.

"How does it work? Why can't I hit you?!" Erza was getting frustrated. She was striking without an exact pattern, so how did Gravus dodge each and every one of her attacks?

"That's a secret!" Gravus laughed and jumped onto her shoulders before pushing off, sending her tumbling into the sand.

"Now, it's time to really get serious. Soul Resonance!" Soul's voice could be heard with Gravus's voice, ringing across the beach. "First Release: Scythe of Hell's Flames!" Gravus turned Soul so the point was aimed at the ground, and he pinched the blade near the hilt. He then proceeded to "draw" Soul from his hand, and Soul glowed a bright orange.

"Flames, huh," Erza pondered. She quickly Requipped into her Flame Empress Armor and raised her sword. "Bring it on! What's the worst-" Erza paused, staring at the large scythe in Gravus's hands. It was at least six feet in length from the top of the scythe blade to the bottom dagger blade attached at the bottom. Three flaming spikes were attached to the bar behind the main blade, and a large eye was between the two. The blades were predominantly black, with a chunk of red in the center split by some dark orange. Most of the large pole was wrapped in a white cloth, and an odd sheath was strapped to Gravus's back by a chain. Two of the three chains on Gravus's jacket had opened, letting his arms to be used freely.

"What's the matter, Erza? Never seen one wield a scythe? Do I look like Erigor?" Gravus asked. Erza's eyes widened at the mention of the "Shinigami" they had caught a year ago. Gravus actually looked nothing like the dark mage. His dark hair and kind face perfectly contrasted Erigor's white hair and constant glare.

"That's not it. Prepare to lose!" Erza yelled. She ran at Gravus with her sword raised, until she got a good look at his eye. It was now red and black, with a large, serrated windmill shuriken in the center. The pupil was red, and the ripples were red and black on the black and red parts, respectively.

"Fire Guard!" Gravus spun the scythe and a trail of flames caused it to form a large, round shield. Erza's attacks were stopped, and she leapt back.

"Now, the true flames of hell: Amaterasu! The black fire that burns fire!" Gravus yelled. His eye glowed and started to spin. Black flames surrounded the scythe blade, giving it a dark, menacing look.

"Flame Slash!" Erza yelled. She sent a long line of fire, only for it to be burned away by the black fire. "What? How did fire get burned?"

"This is the strongest fire in the world," Gravus said. His scythe began to glow once more. "Now, I should show you a better fight. Second Release: Death's Flaming Windmill!" The blades glowed with the black fire and became entirely black. Suddenly, the bottom blade turned into an exact copy of the top, creating a double bladed scythe.

"A double bladed scythe, eh…" Erza had nearly no time to react as the scythe slammed into her blade like a shuriken, Gravus appearing just as suddenly. "This should be good." Gravus leapt away and gripped the scythe as if he meant to spin it. However, the middle started to burn, and suddenly split into two oversized kama connected by a chain of fire. Erza summoned several more swords to slowly circle, ready to attack.

"Erza!" Gravus roared and charged, now with shadowy wings on his back. Erza blocked one of his kama, only for the other to knock her off her legs. Gravus kicked her into the air, and then leapt up in a move that Erza remembered all too well. "Soaring Eagle!" Gravus spun and stuck out a leg, sending Erza hurtling towards the ground. _'Is it over? Am I really going to be defeated now?' _Erza wondered as she hurtled towards the sand. She hit the sand hard, barely managing to Requip a large pillow (normally used for sleeping on missions outside) and bounced.

"O-ow… That hurt…" Erza winced. Her armor was cracked and falling apart, which gave Macao, Wakaba, and Makarov a nosebleed. "Perverts…" Erza Requipped her Morning Star Armor and crossed her swords in front of her. Gravus landed, smiling.

"So you survived. Good. I can finally test my strength against you!" He charged and spun his kama close together, forming a sharp disc. Dark energy began to surround the blades and created something similar to Erza's Circle Sword, and it shot off at Erza. She blocked the attack with one of her swords and charged, knocking one of Gravus's kama out of his hands. To her surprise, Gravus simply kicked it, sending the blade at her back. Erza deflected the kama easily and turned around, pointing both of her swords at the Dragon Slayer.

"Photon Slicer!" A yellow blast of energy shot out at Gravus, whose eye began to spin at a high speed. He reattached his kama and formed his double-bladed scythe, spinning it and trailing black fire.

"Shadow Dimension!" Gravus yelled. A black portal formed from his spinning scythe and absorbed the blast. Erza suddenly felt a concentration of energy behind her, and barely dodged her own blast which had reappeared from another portal. Gravus separated his scythe again and, to Erza's surprise, let out a blast of darkness from his mouth.

"Darkness Dragon's Roar!" The blast hit Erza dead-on, sending her tumbling to the ground. She grimaced and stood up, charging the edges of her blades with energy. Gravus did likewise, coating his kama blades with black fire. The two charged, clashing blades. Gravus parried and swiped, trying to land a hit. Erza continuously swung and slashed, not wanting to open up her defense. Gravus finally managed to cause a miniature explosion by suddenly creating a large amount of compressed fire on his blade and countering Erza's energy imbued attack. The two flew apart and Gravus Requipped a set of scale mail with crossed blades on the front and back. Gravus then flung his kama at Erza, causing her to jump to the side. _'Perfect!'_ Gravus thought. Erza found herself stopped in midair, simply frozen. Her shadow was frozen, and Gravus was staring at it. Erza found herself slowly floating up and twisting around, acting like she was having a seizure. Just when she thought she was going to have a mental breakdown, Gravus dropped her, panting and sweating, to the sand. Erza shakily stood up and leaned on one of her swords, the other laying on the ground. Gravus was standing there, looking bored, with Soul transformed back into his First Release form and in his sheath. Erza managed to get up, and raised her sword. She charged, surprising Gravus and hitting him with a series of slashes and kicks. Suddenly, the sheath and sword at Gravus's side disappeared, and instantly Gravus swung a sword blade on a chain at Erza. Erza dodged and jumped, but the blade seemed to have a will of its own. The chain had replaced Gravus's hand, and suddenly ten more sprung at Erza.

"Weapon Dragon's Claws!" Gravus yelled. Erza barely managed to dodge on of the blades, but they simply changed course and hit Erza from every direction.

"Ahh!" Erza screamed. Her armor fell apart, leaving just a few shattered pieces on. She collapsed, face first, and rolled over. She coughed and looked up at the sky. _'So blue…'_

"It's over, Erza. I win." That simple statement shocked everyone, especially Erza. No matter how much she wanted to get back up, she knew that her Magic Power was out. She shakily stood up again, hoping for a last bit of power, but suddenly lost it. Erza Requipped her white blouse and blue skirt before falling to the ground. Just as her face was about to hit the ground, a pair of familiar and warm arms caught her, pulling her back up.

"Hey, Erza. You put up a great fight," Natsu whispered. Erza smiled lightly at his grin, and started to fall asleep.

"Thanks… Natsu…" Her voice trailed off and her breathing became heavier. Erza's eyes closed, and Natsu lifted her up, bridal style, and walked over to Gravus, who had all of his weapons out.

"Hey, Gravus, just how hard was it to beat her?" Natsu asked the victor. Gravus turned his head and thought for a moment.

"Pretty difficult. I nearly lost." Natsu nodded, then grinned.

"Then fight me! Now!" Natsu shouted, setting Erza down on the sand. Gravus simply shrugged and punched Natsu out before the teen could react.

"I win. Happy?"

"Aye!" the blue Exceed shouted, appearing in front of Lucy, shocking the Celestial Spirit Mage.

"Happy! Don't do that!" Lucy screamed.

"Aye," the now sullen cat replied.

"Th-that was fast…" Natsu muttered. He got up and looked around, before remembering something.

"Erza!" Natsu ran over to the redhead, picking her up, and headed off to the infirmary.

"Bye, everyone! I'll take Erza to the infirmary; she looks like she needs it," Natsu called. Everyone nodded, and Natsu wandered off.

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

Natsu was sitting by Erza's bed, waiting. She was covered in bandages and scrapes, but still beautiful. Natsu looked at her shining red locks, so soft and silky. Natsu then looked at her skin, so gentle and soft, unscarred despite numerous battles. Scrapes always went away, leaving no blemish. At the moment, Erza looked like a resting angel to Natsu, save for the wings and halo. She had a small smile, her eyes calm and not twitching about. Suddenly, Erza began to twitch, and her eyes started to roll. She started to sniff, and called out. Natsu stroked her arm, thinking of all the times they had been together, either one saving the other. Now he would save her from her demons. He had to. Who else but the one who had pledged to stop Erza from crying?

"Erza, It's okay," Natsu whispered. Erza seemed to calm down, and Natsu relaxed.

"Natsu? What are you doing here?" Natsu looked down at Erza, who had a confused look on her face.

"Eh? Oh… Well, um… You see, you fell asleep, and I brought you here, because you looked pretty scraped up, and… well. I guess I ended up waiting to see you wake up," Natsu muttered. He quickly retrieved his arm from Erza's and stood up.

"I guess I should get going," Natsu said. "See you later, Erza."

"Wait!" Erza sat up, grabbing Natsu's wrist. Her eyes were glistening. "Don't go."

"O-ok?" Natsu sat back down, waiting.

"Don't go. Please." Erza was quiet, but Natsu could still hear her. Erza's face was shadowed by her hair, and she now had a sad look.

"What is it?" Natsu asked. He sat on the edge of her bed now, a little closer than before.

"I… I had a nightmare," Erza said. She was trying to hold back tears, and Natsu could tell it was something important. Natsu nodded, ready to be there for her.

"I… I… couldn't tell why, but it was the worst ever. Natsu, it was from the Tower of Heaven," Erza said. The tears were now freely streaming down her face, steadily dropping. Erza sniffed, then continued.

"When you were fighting Jellal, I saw him kill you, in a hundred different ways. Then when I saw you eat the Etherion, you died again. And then it was when I sacrificed myself, and you pulled me out. You ended up going back in, and dying. The last time was when we escaped, but you were caught in the explosion and died protecting me. I couldn't bear it. Natsu, why? Why can't I bear losing you? Why?" Erza's voice trailed off to a whisper. Natsu then surprised Erza by doing something that she had almost forgotten had existed.

"Erza, it was just a dream. No matter what, I'll protect you. It's okay to cry, Erza. Just let it out. I'll still be here." Natsu was hugging Erza, somehow getting her onto his lap. Erza, shocked by the affection, finally broke down. She cried and cried into Natsu's shoulder as he patted her back.

"It's okay, Erza." Those three words, they seemed to hold the world's sympathy and reassurance, and as Natsu repeated it, Erza sobbed. To her, losing Natsu was like losing everything. He was the one to support her, to comfort her, and the one to make her happy. When Erza finally ran out of tears to cry, Natsu looked at her face.

"Natsu, thank you. Thank you for all the times you've been there to support me and thank you for all the times you fought for me." Erza finally smiled for the first time after she had experienced her nightmare.

"Erza, what did you dream about, after I died so many times? I saw you smile for a bit," Natsu said.

"Eh? Oh, um… ah… never mind, I f-forgot, heh," Erza's face turned as red as her hair, and she looked away. _'Did Erza just blush and stutter? Oh well, she can be girly sometimes.'_ Natsu shrugged off Erza's behavior and let her lean on him. They stayed like that for a while before Natsu felt Erza slump and start to breathe heavily. He set her down and walked out, closing the door quietly.

"So, you and Erza, huh?" Gray surprised Natsu and caused Natsu to jump.

"I-it's not like that, popsicle! Jeez!" Natsu walked past Gray and punched the Ice Mage, grumbling about annoying ice picks. Gray chuckled, walking after Natsu.

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

The guild was rather quiet again after Gravus and Erza had dueled. The doors opened, making Gravus look up.

"Gravus!" Blair walked in wearing a black open midriff jacket, skin-tight short shorts, black sandals, and a purple shirt that exposed much of Blair's stomach. Gravus nodded, smiling. Wendy was by Blair's side, groaning at Carla's complaint of Blair's choice of clothing. Wendy waved, and Gravus picked up Wendy, letting her sit on his lap. Carla simply sighed, and then flew off to find Happy.

"Hey, nii-san!" Wendy said brightly.

"Nii-san? I'm not your brother!" Gravus replied, surprised. Wendy shrugged, not really caring.

"Whatever. I see you as my brother and Dani as my sister, so there." Gravus sighed in defeat. He just couldn't argue with such a cute little kid like Wendy.

"Fine. Just don't go saying that you'll move in with me because I'm your "brother", okay?"

"Actually, that's a good idea!"

"Gah! Don't give me heart attacks! I want to live to be a healthy old man!"

"But seriously, why not?"

"I… gah… Fine. You can move in." Gravus sighed in defeat.

"Yeah! Carla! Carla!" Wendy rushed off to find Carla, leaving a very tired Gravus behind.

"Hey! What's up? You look down, Gravus," Sabrina said. She had popped out of nowhere and was wiping a plate with a rag.

"Oh… Hey, Sabrina. Wendy's moving in with us."

"Is that so? That's great!"

"… I'm not sure how to take that statement…" Gravus instantly regretted saying this.

"Jeez! You really act like your old perverted self."

"Sorry!"

"Hey Gravus! What's going on?" Dani decided to sit next to Gravus, Kiba happily chewing on a bone.

"Wendy is moving in with us," Gravus replied. Dani squealed and ran off, causing Gravus to sigh for the umpteenth time.

"That is it. I have given up. I'm going home. See you later, Sabrina. And don't stay out here too late, okay?" Sabrina nodded, and Gravus trudged off.

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

Gravus had invited his team to dinner at his house. Which might not have been the smartest idea, but he still did it. He instantly regretted it the moment he took out the fried rice and breaded fish.

"FISH!" Happy lunged at the plate, but Carla simply held him by his tail.

"Calm down, Happy." It wasn't a statement, but more of a command.

"A-aye…" Happy sat down, wiping away his drool. Erza was wearing a red sweater over her blouse and black jeans, trying to keep Natsu from grabbing the food.

"Natsu, calm down!" she commanded.

"O-okay, Erza," Natsu said. He instantly sat down and trembled.

"Itadakimasu!" Blair called out. She instantly grabbed some rice and fish, happily eating. Gravus sighed and got some food.

"This is good, Gravus. Did you make it?" Lucy asked. She had experienced some of the best cooking in the world, and this definitely stood as one of the best.

"Yeah. I learned from my mother before… well… yeah. I learned from her," Gravus said. Sabrina looked at him, a sad look on her face. _'He must really miss his old family,' _Sabrina thought. The meal continued with general laughter and facepalming at Natsu and Gajeel's insatiable hunger.

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

"Gravus… Hey, Gravus…" Sabrina called out. She was in Gravus's room, standing by the opened door, and looking about. This was harder than she thought. Sabrina walked up to Gravus's bed, calling for him again.

"Gravus…" Sabrina's voice was barely more than a whisper, and she started to regret this. Just as she turned to walk out, Gravus appeared.

"Sabrina! What are you doing here?"

"Oh… Umm… Can we talk? Maybe on the roof?" Sabrina quietly asked. Gravus nodded, and opened the window, creating a set of stairs to the roof. The two walked up in silence, thinking separate thoughts. When they reached the roof, Gravus turned to Sabrina.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Gravus asked. Sabrina looked away and started to chew on a fingernail.

"Oh, I… um… I need to tell you a secret. I can trust you, right?" Sabrina stuttered. Gravus nodded and quirked an eyebrow. Sabrina started to take off her shirt, until Gravus yelled out.

"Wh-what! What d-do you think-" Sabrina simply looked at Gravus. He shut up and waited, knowing it was something important. Suddenly, two black tattoos appeared on Sabrina's shoulder blades, in the shape of an angel's wings.

"It's these tattoos. They… are special. I do have magic, but… I…" Gravus nodded. Sabrina stopped her stuttering.

"Just show me. It won't help if you keep it in." Gravus said bluntly. Sabrina nodded, and her shoulders began to glow, before black feathered wings appeared. She looked away again and blushed, then summoned a gold orb.

"I can use Heaven Magic. I don't know why, but ever since I got these tattoos, I could use magic. But every time I used it, people called me a demon. Why? Why do people hate me everywhere?" Sabrina started to cry, until Gravus gently hugged her.

"I don't. Fairy Tail doesn't. Here, nobody will, okay? Let's go inside." Gravus led Sabrina back down the stairs to his room. The two sat down and Gravus inspected Sabrina's wings. They were beautiful, light, and definitely strong enough for flight, but at the same time looked so… fragile. He stroked the feathers, admiring their softness and shininess.

"Uh… Gravus, why do you look so… unsurprised about my wings?" Sabrina's voice cut through Gravus's thoughts.

"Oh… Well, you see, I kinda… have a similar condition. I was attacked by an arachne before, and got the ability to turn into a near-arachne." Gravus enveloped his arms in light, and revealed then to be covered in a shiny, black exoskeleton. The bottom part was smooth, but the parts near his shoulders had large spikes jutting out, and looked deadly. His fingers were like claws, but still slightly human.

"Wha- How?" Sabrina asked. Gravus shrugged, and then grinned. His canines, already sharp and long, were now almost fang-like, and dripped a purple fluid.

"I don't know, but this form is pretty useful." Gravus then took off his shirt, causing Sabrina to blush, and enveloped his chest in the same light. He now had shiny black armor, with small spikes on his back, and four extra, spidery legs extending out. Each leg was quite long, but only as thick as an arm, and ended in a large claw.

"I almost never use this because it's like a last resort. But I know how you feel, Sabrina. Don't let others' opinion of you get in your way. That's how I lived," Gravus advised. Sabrina nodded, and then noticed that her wings were still out. Gravus was gently stoking them, and it sent shivers up her spine.

"C-can I put my wings back?" Sabrina quietly asked. Gravus nodded, and the disappeared, leaving only her tattoos. Gravus let his exoskeleton disappear and yawned.

"Well, you'd best get some rest, alright?" Sabrina nodded, and then, suddenly, decided to do something quite brave.

"Um… can I sleep with you tonight?" Sabrina asked. She could tell Gravus was blushing, and she grinned.

"Ah… well, um…" Gravus stuttered. Sabrina looked at him with her puppy eyes, and Gravus seemed to lose resolve. Sabrina smiled gently and crawled in next to the Dragon Slayer.

"Are all Dragon Slayers so warm?" Sabrina asked. Gravus shrugged.

"Maybe I'm disturbed by the fact that you don't have your shirt on," Gravus pointed out. Sabrina suddenly felt blood rush to her cheeks, but ignored the comment.

"Oh well. I'm comfortable." Sabrina snuggled closer to Gravus, and the two fell asleep.

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

"Nii-san, wake up!" Wendy's voice woke up Gravus abruptly, causing him to open his eyes. He saw a tangle of black hair, and suddenly remembered what had happened last night.

"Coming, Wendy!" he called back. Wendy walked back down the hall and left him alone.

"Sabrina… Sabrina, wake up." Sabrina stirred and nuzzled closer to Gravus's bare chest.

"Five more minutes," Sabrina muttered sleepily. Gravus shrugged and moved her off of him so he could get off.

"Fine, but I'm getting up," Gravus grumbled. He walked out, letting Sabrina sleep in.

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

The guild was already engaged in its early-morning brawl when Gravus, Wendy, Sabrina, and Ryan walked in. Gravus sighed; he did not want to deal with a brawl this early.

"What's wrong, bro?" Ryan asked.

"I don't want to deal with this so early." A tic mark formed on Gravus's forehead and he started to glow a black, demonic aura.

"Let's get out of here," Sabrina whispered to Wendy and Ryan. The two nodded, and they all headed off to the bar.

"EVERYBODY STOP FIGHTING AT ONCE!" Gravus bellowed. He drew Blair and released a blade of darkness that seemed to knock out everyone in the brawl. Gravus sighed and tiredly made his way over to the bar, rubbing his temples furiously.

"Gravus, are you okay?" Sabrina asked. Gravus shook his head, sighing.

"I swear, sometimes I wonder if they actually know how annoying the brawls can get," Gravus muttered. Mira giggled.

"But that's our guild for you!" As always, Mira was smiling and bubbly.

"Ugh… Who hit me?!" Gray yelled. He had been in a good fight when someone knocked everyone out.

"I did. Would you like to experience unconsciousness again?" Gravus leered, suddenly in front of Gray's face. A smile was on Gravus's face, but it wasn't friendly. And Gravus's tone definitely was demonic. Gray noticed a black aura forming around Gravus's upper torso, and gasped. Gravus had black stuff , like a bug's exoskeleton, on his arms and chest, with spikes and large spidery legs.

"What the hell are you?!" Gray said, scrambling back. Gravus lifted himself up by his four spider legs and grinned.

"I'm part arachne! What else?" Gravus asked rhetorically. Gray trembled in fear, and suddenly noticed Gravus's fangs. Gray instantly passed out from his fear.

"Who knew he was afraid of spiders?" Gravus said as he transformed back into his normal state and sat back down at the bar. Natsu then woke up.

"Who-" Gravus already had a large claymore pointed at Natsu's throat, while munching on a cookie.

"Me, that's who. Just be glad I didn't take off your head." Natsu gulped and nodded furiously.

"S-scary…" Natsu muttered. Gravus nodded and smiled.

"People tell me that a lot."

"What in the world is going on?" Erza stood at the door. Gravus shrugged.

"I got here, and everyone was fighting. It was really early and I started to have a headache, so I knocked them all out." Gravus said. Erza looked around, and there were only a few people stirring. Most were near dead or shivering. Erza suddenly found a shiver down her spine, and slowly turned around, trembling and sweating. Gravus had resumed his half arachne form and was leering, letting venom drip from his fangs.

"See? I can be scary, too," Gravus hissed. Erza let out a girlish scream and jumped back. Sabrina shook her head, wondering when Gravus got to be this way. _'Still, it was funny,'_ she thought. Gravus suddenly appeared next to her, surprising her again.

"Kya!" Sabrina yelled. She jumped out of her seat, before smacking Gravus on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Gravus asked.

"For scaring me," Sabrina huffed. She sat down and crossed her arms, looking away from Gravus. Gravus shrugged and started to drink a mug of hot chocolate. Unknown to him, however, Sabrina was smiling and blushing.

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

"Gravus! Let's go on a mission!" Natsu called. The guild had healed and not bothered with another brawl until after lunch, with Gravus joining in (albeit restrained). Gravus sighed and looked at the rest of Team Natsu; they all shrugged or nodded.

"Fine," Gravus muttered. He looked at Sabrina, who had decided to stay at Fairy Tail, and she nodded.

"Natsu, can Sabrina go with us?" Gravus asked. Natsu shrugged, already excited at going on a mission. Erza shook her head, smiling gently.

"We'll all leave in an hour so we can get to an inn, okay?" Erza called to her team. They all nodded, and Erza smiled satisfactorily. This was going to be a nice day.

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

"Natsu, stop grumbling and come here," Erza said. Natsu had tried to prove that he could stand up to motion sickness, as Gravus did, but failed miserably. Natsu crawled over, and Erza patted her lap, causing Natsu to lie down with her legs acting as his pillow. Gravus chuckled, as Sabrina napped in his lap, leaning on him. Blair was sitting in Wendy's lap again, and Gajeel was glaring at Gray. Juvia and Lucy started to chat about Gray's oddities, which, surprisingly, included his unconscious stripping habit. Gajeel was about to make a rather nasty and NSFW remark to Gray, when Gravus opened his left eye, and sent out two dark blasts, creating gags.

"I wish you two would just shut the hell up. I don't want my little sister to grow up with a trashy mouth, got it?" Gravus growled. Gajeel and Gray nodded, and Gravus released the gags. Wendy sighed; her "older brother" was being a bit too overprotective.

"Little sister? Since when were you two related?" Lucy asked, puzzled. Gravus shrugged, pointing at Wendy.

"Well, Gravus-nii seemed like a father at first, but he was definitely too young to be a father, so I decided to call him my nii-san!" Wendy said brightly. "And guess what? I'm living with nii-san now!"

"Gravus, if you try anything-" Erza was cut off by Gravus shaking his head.

"Really? How low do you think I would sink too? Erza, your protectiveness gets too a point of silliness," Gravus said. Erza knew he was joking, but still felt miffed.

"Tch. Just… whatever." Erza grumbled. Gravus looked down at Sabrina, who stirred and tried to get a more comfortable position. He thought of Sabrina deciding to get her guild mark on her back, and how he had to kick Makarov for drooling when the Master heard this. Gravus shook his head and smiled, the comfort of Sabrina's soft skin and her warmth lulling him to sleep.

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

"We're here!" Erza's strict voice roused everyone from their sleep. Gravus let Sabrina get up and stretch, before standing up. _'I wonder if Erza noticed how comfortable Natsu looked… Or how she blushed most of the time when Natsu was near her… Oh well,'_ Gravus thought. They all left the train and watched as three Exceeds approached from the sky.

"Happy, why do you, Carla, and Lily always fly in?" Natsu said. Happy shook his head as if the answer was obvious.

"Because you guys take up all the space!" Gray nearly kicked Happy for this, if Pantherlily had not suddenly thought of something.

"Happy, where are your clothes?" Happy looked down, and screamed.

"NATSU! Why didn't you tell me I was naked?" Happy shouted. Natsu shrugged, innocently looking at Happy.

"I thought you knew," Natsu said. Gravus started to laugh, and Gajeel patted Lily on the back.

"Lily, you are one _hell_ of a shit-instigator!" Gajeel roared with laughter. Erza smiled, amused at how silly and stupid Happy could be. Natsu sighed, and motioned for Happy.

"Happy, why didn't you ever ask for clothes then?" Natsu asked. Happy sighed and sulked off towards the nearest inn.

"Let's just go…" Gravus muttered. Ryan and Gray nodded, both tired. They walked off after Happy, with Sabrina, Wendy, and Blair close behind.

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

Natsu sighed. Why did Erza want him to bring up her cake? Just because they both ordered snacks, didn't mean he had to be a waiter, right? Natsu shook his head and knocked on Erza's door. This inn had small rooms, and Erza had to sleep in the same room as Natsu.

"Erza, I brought up our snacks," Natsu called. Erza rose from her bed and nodded, taking the plate of cake.

"Thanks, Natsu," Erza curtly replied. They ate in silence, the quiet growing uncomfortable.

"Erza, did you remember what the last part of that dream you had was?" Natsu asked out of the blue. Erza was shocked and flustered; she did remember, and thought about it every day. "Erza?"

"Hm? Oh, um… I… ah, well… I'm not sure I want to talk about it, Natsu…" Erza stammered. She turned away and got under her covers, as she Requipped into pajamas. Natsu shrugged.

"Okay…" Natsu took off his vest and put on some loose, soft trousers and jumped into his own bed. In seconds he was snoring. Erza looked at his face, so calm and peaceful. _'Natsu…'_

**DERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDERPDE RPDERPDERPDERP**

"Gravus, come on! I want to go to sleep!" Sabrina growled. Gravus was sitting at a desk, his light burning low. He was sketching something, occasionally looking over his shoulder.

"Almost done, Sabrina… And… there!" Gravus turned around, showing Sabrina the page in his black notebook. Sabrina blushed and muttered something quietly into the blankets. Gravus chuckled, closing the book. He took off his shirt and Requipped into pajama pants, jumping in.

"You know, Erza and Natsu look pretty cute together…" Sabrina whispered. Gravus shrugged, closing his eyes.

"That's true, but what are you going to do about it?" Gravus asked.

"Uh… Fine."

"Exactly. Goodnight." Gravus turned so he was looking up. _'What _will_ Sabrina do…'_

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"Awww, man! This is so boring!" Natsu grumbled. Erza looked at him.

"You did pick the mission, Natsu. Why are you complaining?" Erza asked. Natsu opened his mouth, but closed it, not knowing how to answer. They were all walking through a forest, looking for a gang of thieves and a few monsters. Those were on the list of things terrorizing the town, and Natsu had wanted to "kick some butt". So far, nothing had appeared.

"Nii-san, when are we going to see the monsters?" Wendy asked. Gravus looked back at her, shrugging.

"Who knows, Wendy…" Gravus said. Gajeel and Gray nodded, before arguing that one shouldn't have nodded.

"Gray-sama, please stop fighting," Juvia called out. Gray ignored her, and then she noticed something.

"Gray-sama! Your clothes!" Juvia yelled out.

"Gah! My clothes! When did this happen?" Gray yelled out. He frantically ran about, searching for his clothes. Lucy sighed, wondering how she was on this team. Why did she have to accept that first mission a year or so ago? So much had happened between then and now. The Tower of Heaven, Edolas, Oracion Seis, meeting Wendy, … Lucy shook her head. Oh, how the year had passed so quickly. A crash snapped her out of her thoughts and made her look up. A large ogre had stopped them, and was brandishing a large axe at their team. Gravus growled, noticing the ogre was on their list of wanted monsters and thieves. He simply summoned a katana and held it in front of him.

"Gravus, hold on. We got this," Gray said. "Ice Make: Sword!" Gray quickly formed a sword of ice and gripped it tightly.

"He's right. Gihihi! Hell, if I don't get to beat something up, I might get mad! Iron Dragon's Sword!" Gajeel transformed his arm into a chainsaw-like sword and held it steady as the spikes spun rapidly.

"Yeah! Now I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled. He quickly summoned flames on his arms, ready to fight.

"…Fine," Gravus shrugged. "But don't say I didn't warn you, okay?" He grinned broadly, letting a magic seal take place of the katana hand guard. "Darkness Dragon's Demon Blade!" The blade was enveloped in a dark aura, looking quite demonic.

"I guess it's high time to do this. Requip: IS-3 Armor!" Ryan yelled. An insane grin formed on his face when the steel plates, treads, and large cannon formed. The chest plate pieces met in a point on the front, and the shoulder turret was rounded. The rest of the armor was slightly rounded, with sharp angles at some points. The 122 mm cannon was glowing, ready to fire.

"GO!" Gravus bellowed, letting dark energy flow about him. The group charged, ready to demolish the ogre. Suddenly, a few more ogres and other assorted monsters surrounded the group, surprising them. Erza glared and Requipped her Flight Armor, readying herself for a long battle. The ogres swarmed, lashing out with their large battle axes.

"It's a good day for you to die!" Ryan yelled. He was taking down the ogres left and right, with Erza cleaning up after him. Gravus and Gajeel battled together, both using their element-enhanced swords. Ogres fell to the right and left from Natsu's fists, but even then, it wasn't enough. The monsters kept pushing in, until Gravus had to make a move.

"Gravuteratsu, the all-consuming eye of darkness! Eternal Mangekyou Rinnegan!" Gravus yelled. His eyes glowed, before becoming the Gravuteratsu and the Eternal Mangekyou Rinnegan. Waves of dark energy surged from his body, forming into many weapons and fists. These continuously battered at the mob, but barely did much.

"Tch! This is getting nowhere!" Natsu yelled, readying himself for a large attack. "Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" Blades of fire burst from the flames on Natsu's arms, hitting many enemies at once. Over half of the ogres were taken out by the explosions, but still they pressed on.

"Black Orchid: Rising Star Drills!" Gravus yelled. His arms let darkness flow to the ground, where it seeped into the enemies' shadows. Suddenly, thin drills of darkness burst out of the shadows, piercing many ogres.

"Still? We've taken out how many now?!" Gajeel yelled. He grimaced when an ogre slammed its axe into his chainsaw, but cut through both the axe and its wielder.

"That's it! I can't handle this anymore!" Sabrina yelled. Gravus snapped his head in her direction, eyes wide. Sabrina tied her jacket to her waist, and let her wings appear. She flew up above the mess and let a bright yellow-white light envelop one hand, while black energy dotted with white spots engulfed the other.

"The light of the heavens and the power of the night! Twin Blasts of Heaven!" Sabrina yelled. Two thin lances of energy shot out from both of her hands, spiraling and destroying almost anything they hit. Most of the remaining ogres fell, completely knocked out.

"Wh-whoa…" Lucy breathed. The devastating attack had left giant trails in the ground, sending rubble everywhere. Sabrina hovered, looking about. She was satisfied with the results of the attack, and suddenly Gravus grinned widely.

"Now! Sweeping Demon Blade!" Gravus swept his sword in a large slash towards the remaining monsters, sending out a blade of darkness. The monsters were instantly taken care of. Gravus dropped to the ground, panting.

"Whew. Done. Let's go, okay?" Gravus said. He stood up, looking at Natsu, Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Sabrina, knowing that Ryan would know what he was saying and that Gajeel, Lucy, and Juvia were within earshot. They all nodded, with Sabrina landing next to Gravus.

"At least we didn't really destroy too many things, right?" Lucy asked. Oh, the feeling of not having to pay for damage costs.

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Once again, Natsu and his team decided to head back with the money, feeling good about the zero damage cost. That is, until, Natsu saw the train.

"Nooooo! Do we have to take the train?" Natsu cried. Erza sighed, dragging the "Salamander" along.

"Yes. Now get in and stop complaining," Erza said. Natsu groaned and slumped, muttering something about trains. Gray, Juvia, Lucy, Gajeel, Wendy, and Ryan followed the two pink/redheads.

"Say, where'd Gravus and Sabrina go? They were behind me a moment ago," Ryan said. He looked about, confused.

"I really don't care," Gajeel said. Big mistake, especially when Wendy was around.

"But Gravus-nii and Sabrina-san are out there!" Wendy cried. Gray sighed and shook his head, about to tell Wendy something, when two silhouettes showed up at the door.

"Sorry we're late, guys!" Sabrina called. She and Gravus looked rather sheepish, and both had a bag filled with… stuff? _'Whatever,'_ Gray thought. He sat back down, pulling off his shirt in the process.

"Gray-sama, your clothes… again…" Juvia muttered, blushing.

"Gah!"

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"Ah, home at last!" Natsu cried. After a four-hour nap on Erza's legs (again!) and waking up to find Erza playing with his hair (again!), Natsu definitely felt well-rested. After all, who wouldn't, if they were using Erza's soft, smooth, beautiful legs as a pillow? Suddenly Natsu was hit by a blur and tumbled to the ground, looking around in annoyance.

"Okay, who the hell- HAPPY!" Natsu ran to the blue Exceed and smiled. "There you are, buddy!"

"Aye!" Happy said. Carla and Pantherlily swooped in, landing lightly. Carla walked up to Happy and hit him on the back of his head, sending Happy into a pole.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Happy?" Carla sighed. Wendy smiled, knowing that Carla wasn't really mad, but simply exasperated. It was Happy, anyways.

"Let's just go back. I'm out of beer," Ryan muttered. Gray shrugged, with Juvia clinging to his shoulder again. Lucy sighed (why was everyone sighing?), smiling at Happy and Natsu's antics. And, almost if on cue, everyone started off for the guild.

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"Ah!" A chair flew out of nowhere the moment Gravus opened the door, surprising him. He reacted instinctively and blasted out a mass of spiky darkness, shattering the chair. He looked at Elfman, who was wrestling with Bickslow on who was manlier, and just sighed.

"When will they ever learn?" Gravus wondered aloud as he walked up to a table and slumped. Lucy sat next to him, shrugging.

"Who knows?" she said. "Hey Mira, could you get me some food?"

"Sure!" Mira called back. She instantly disappeared into the kitchen.

"Hungry?" Gravus asked Sabrina when she sat down, stomach growling. Sabrina nodded, closing her eyes. She had spent a long time, just thinking about what to do if she wanted to get Natsu to notice what he showed. And a long time as in an entire night, which wasn't good. When the plate of dumplings arrived and Gravus picked it up, Sabrina instantly perked up.

"Food!" she cried, before digging in. Gravus chuckled, wondering how one could be tired and then awake in less than a second.

"So, any ideas?" Gravus asked. Sabrina paused, chewing thoughtfully before swallowing.

"Well, no, but then again, this is Natsu, the idiot raised by a dragon, we're talking about, so…" Sabrina finally said. Gravus nodded, grabbing a dumpling.

"What if we… Oh, forget it." Gravus muttered. Lucy, being the curious woman she was, slid over, giving Gravus a questioning look. Gravus shrugged, pointing at Sabrina. Sabrina held up a finger to her lips, looking about, before leaning forward confidentially.

"You wanna know?" Sabrina quietly asked Lucy. Lucy slowly nodded, waiting.

"Well… I-" Sabrina abruptly stopped as Erza and Natsu drew near. "I'll tell you later!"

"What's up?" Natsu asked. Gravus shrugged, grabbing a dumpling and popping it into his mouth. Natsu groaned, once again feeling the effects of boredom. What a drag.

"Everyone! I have an important announcement to make!" Makarov's voice boomed throughout the entire guild, causing Gravus to wince.

"Oh joy…" Dani muttered. She had appeared out of nowhere, listening to a music player.

"The S-class Wizard Promotion Trials will be held in two weeks!" Makarov continued.

"What?!" the entire guild cried out.

"The S-class what?" Gravus asked. Erza shrugged, looking bored.

"Trials to appoint new S-class mages," she said. Gravus nodded slowly, thinking. _'Trials, eh? That should be easy…' _Gravus had no idea of what was going to happen next. Oh, the poor mage.

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Gravus, Ryan, Wendy, and Sabrina were walking back in the dark, not noticing the snow falling down about them. They all walked on in a sort of trance, not really looking about until a voice broke through to their minds.

"Please help!" Lucy's voice rang out from an alley. Gravus and Wendy rushed over, finding a passed-out Cana in her underwear, reeking of alcohol. Ryan sighed, hefting Cana onto his shoulder.

"Okay, just WHAT the hell happened?!" Gravus said, annoyed.

"I don't know, I was just walking home and I saw that Cana was like this!" Lucy cried frantically. Gravus sighed, thinking over the situation.

"Okay. Where's your house?" he asked Lucy. Lucy pointed to the left, and the group of Fairy Tail mages began to move in that direction.

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At Lucy's apartment, Gravus, Ryan, Wendy, and Sabrina were lounging about, waiting for news about Cana. The door to the bedroom suddenly opened, causing everyone to look up.

"Cana… She's… Cana's okay…" Lucy panted, exhausted. Ryan sighed in relief, inwardly thanking Mavis that Cana was okay.

"That's good," Gravus said. Even though he didn't show it, he was still worried whenever one of his guild mates became injured or sick.

"Ugh… where am I?" Cana's voice rang out from the other room. Ryan and Lucy both rushed over quickly, just to see Cana struggling to get up.

"Cana, what happened to you?" Ryan asked, worry clearly in his voice. Cana looked around blankly, before seeing Lucy and Ryan.

"Lucy, where… am I?" Cana slowly said as she sat up. She looked about, and noticed that she was in Lucy's apartment. Cana then noticed Ryan, and she instantly dove back under the covers, a large blush spreading. Ryan looked at the lump in the blankets quizzically until Cana popped out again.

"Cana, what… What in holy hell happened out there?!" Ryan said. Cana looked down and sat up, hugging her knees.

"I… I… I don't want to-" Cana was quickly cut off by Gravus.

"Hey, if we're all like a family, then you can just talk to us," the shadowy mage said. He was leaning against the doorframe, Wendy and Sabrina looking on just behind him. Cana sighed, knowing she had no choice but to talk to her friends.

"Alright…" Cana began her story.

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"When I was little, my mom died, and I wasn't sure who my dad was. I joined up with Fairy Tail soon, and there I met my father. I was extremely shocked to find out that Gildarts, the most powerful man in the guild, was my father. He was leaving, but I knew that it was him. When I later discovered that he was an S-Class Mage, I resolved to become an S-Class Mage before talking to him.

"And that's where depression soon kicked in. I failed three times. Each time made my mindset worse and worse, until now. I honestly think that if I fail this year, I'm not worthy to talk to Gildarts… or to be a part of Fairy Tail," Cana finished. Everyone, especially Ryan, looked devastated. Was Cana planning to leave the guild? That couldn't be!

"But Cana… Why would you want to leave?" Ryan asked, concern showing through. "It doesn't matter if you pass or not, you should still talk to your father!" Cana sighed, looking down.

"I… Fine. This time, I'll talk to him, no matter what!" Cana resolved.

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"I actually find it funny that I'm just about the only Dragon Slayer, other than Wendy, on board to not be affected by the boat," Gravus said. The contestants, which meant Levy and Gajeel, Wendy and Mest, Juvia and Lisanna, Cana and Lucy, Elfman and Evergreen, Gray and Loke, Freed and Bickslow, and Gravus and Sabrina (Ryan was simply going to be at the camp), were all sitting on the deck or below in the shaded rooms, trying to cool themselves down. While it was supposed to be in the "cool range", it was still pretty warm, enough to make even Natsu slightly bothered.

"Ugh… I feel so tired," Lucy muttered. She was sprawled out on a chair, watching Natsu walk about impatiently.

"When are we going to- urk!" Natsu collapsed quickly. He had been trying to resist his motion sickness by sheer willpower, and finally gave in. He quickly crawled to the side and leaned over, retching.

"When will you learn, Natsu…" Gravus muttered. He was dressed in shorts, a t-shirt, a jacket, and leather gloves, without breaking a sweat. He looked off at the large silhouette in the distance that was the holy Tenrou Island. It was supposedly like Subspace; no one from Fairy Tail could die there, and all because of the great Tenrou Tree; weird.

"BLARGH!" someone yelled from below decks. Gravus snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the stairs, sighing. With the Master and Erza nowhere to be found, he was left to keep everyone in line.

"Now what…" Gravus muttered. He rose and walked down the stairs, sighing. The sight that greeted him was truly disturbing: Gray, in the heat, had taken every article of clothing he had off of him, except for his boxers, and Juvia had instantly started to blush and call for him to get dressed. Then, if things weren't bad enough, Juvia's top had fallen off, and Gray's "brother" had decided to wake up. Gajeel then woke up, and promptly threw up. And to top it all off, well, Loke had decided to hit on Juvia, only to find that his "bro" was standing at attention. And he had his shorts unzipped, by accident.

Honestly, I leave for -OKAY HOLY MAVIS WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE!" Gravus bellowed. Juvia had passed out, shocked, Loke was knocked unconscious by Cana, and Wendy was hidden by Lisanna. Everyone was still frozen with shock and disgust, though Juvia was still blushing madly. Gravus sighed, turning to go back up on deck. On the deck, he looked up and saw a shape soaring about, twisting and turning like a dancer. The shape suddenly swooped up and dived, landing neatly on the planks.

"Hey Sabrina. Having fun?" Gravus asked. Sabrina nodded, panting. She yawned, feeling lethargic. Soon the boat would dock. Soon. So soon.

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"Okay, everyone listen up!" Makarov called. All the mages looked up, and instantly stopped what they were doing.

"We've arrived at Tenrou Island. In a few minutes, we will begin after you all get ready. Is that clear? The first round will be to go through the paths on shore, the second part will be to find our First Master's grave, and the third… is going to be revealed later," Makarov called out. Gildarts, Mira, and Erza stood behind the master, letting a stern look fall over all of the contestants. Everyone nodded, getting their items and preparing for the trials. Suddenly, a large set of runes flashed over the ship, making everyone look at Freed and Bickslow. The two Thunder God Tribe members were on the shore, laughing and walking away. Levy gritted her teeth, audibly growling.

"The nerve…!" Levy muttered. Gajeel looked over, having a moment of sudden realization.

"Can't you re-write the runes?" the Iron Dragon Slayer asked. Levy facepalmed, groaning.

"Why did I not think of that?" Levy quickly re-wrote the runes, letting herself and Gajeel pass through.

"Levy-chan, wait!" Lucy called. She had tried to pass after Levy, but to no avail.

"Sorry, Lu-chan, but Gajeel and I will be going out for a while!" Levy called back, her face feigning innocence. She skipped off, Gajeel walking after her. Everyone else sighed, sitting down and waiting for the minutes to pass. Gravus suddenly sat up after a few seconds and slipped on a pair of sunglasses, glaring at the runes. Glyphs flashed across the tinted surface before disappearing, and suddenly Gravus pulled up Sabrina into his arms. He stepped through the barrier, smashing a hole in the process. Cana made to follow after him, but this time a larger wall flew up, knocking back the Card Mage. Cana sighed, sitting down. '_Oh well…'_ Cana thought. She sighed and sat down; not bothering to look up until a tap on her shoulder brought her out of her trance.

"Cana, the barrier lifted…" Lucy said. Cana nodded, looking out with steely determination.

"Let's go!"

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**Whoo…. Done. Yeah, the fourth chapter took TWO WHOLE MONTHS to finish. . *glares at writer's block. So, review, enjoy, and read rjww's story, THE BRAVE BEAR!**


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